Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Official Hospitality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, how many receptions his Office has hosted for which participation in Conservative Party activity was the main criterion for invitation, in each quarter of each year since 2010-11.

Mr David Cameron: As was the practice under previous administrations and in accordance with the Ministerial Code (6.2), I have hosted a number of political events at Downing Street. The costs were met by the Conservative Party. Details of official and charity receptions held at Downing Street are published on a quarterly basis. Details can be accessed via the gov.uk website.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his letter to Sir John Chilcot of 17 June 2015, if he will instruct the Cabinet Secretary to discuss with Sir John at the proposed meeting the imposition of an urgent deadline for the receipt of responses from individuals contacted as part of the Maxwellisation process.

Mr David Cameron: As I explained in my letter to Sir John, I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to meet him as soon as possible to discuss progress for completion of the report and ways in which the Civil Service can assist the Inquiry in the urgent completion of its work.

Department for Work and Pensions

Self-employed: Pay

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average annual income of self-employed (a) men and (b) women was in each year since 2010.

Priti Patel: Table 1: estimated median annual income (£) from self-employment of men and women from 2009/10 to 2012/13 is shown below.  Self-employed menSelf-employed womenAll self-employed2009/1015,2317,12512,8252010/1114,2726,50211,8662011/1214,8206,99512,3502012/1314,4006,25710,800 Source: Family Resources SurveyNotes:1. Figures have been adjusted to 2012/13 prices using RPI and are rounded to the nearest pound (£).2. Self-employment is defined using the ILO definition.3. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of UK households.4. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to former Government Office Region population by age and sex. Estimates based on survey data are subject to uncertainty due to sampling error and remaining non-response error.5. Median self-employment income divides the number of people, when ranked by self-employment income, into two equal-sized groups.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned in (a) York Central constituency and (b) the UK in (i) the last 12 months and (ii) each previous 12 month period since 2009; and what the average length of each such sanction was in each such period.

Priti Patel: The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance sanctions, by geographies in Great Britain, is published at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html The information requested regarding the length of a sanction is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information for Northern Ireland are devolved matters which are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive Minister for Social Development. These statistics can be found at:http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Social Security Benefits

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have experienced a delay in payment of benefits of more than (a) one month, (b) two months, (c) three months, (d) four months, (e) five months and (f) six months in (i) York Central constituency and (ii) the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available to the level of detail required.

Food Banks

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who have used a food bank in each month since January 2010.

Priti Patel: The Department does not monitor the use of food banks.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission a review of the effect of benefit sanctions on claimants.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 June 2015 to Question UIN 170.

Access to Work Programme

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the net effect of the Access to Work scheme on public expenditure.

Justin Tomlinson: Estimating a Value for Money figure for Access to Work is difficult – there is no readily available comparison group against which to assess the difference the programme makes to someone’s likelihood of being in work. Access to Work covers a wide range of different types of support. Each individual case is different and it is not possible to estimate the return to the Exchequer for each one. My officials are considering how best to estimate the return on investment delivered by Access to Work.

Work Programme

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by when he plans to pilot the new approach to sanctions using warnings and non-financial penalties following a first failure to comply with conditionality on the Work Programme.

Priti Patel: Any potential pilot has not been confirmed. The Department is considering the proposal.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claimed jobseeker's allowance during the most recent year for which information is available; and how many such people received a sanction during that year.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claim universal credit in each (a) region, (b) local authority area and (c) and parliamentary constituency.

Priti Patel: Rt. Hon. Priti Patel MP: The information requested can be found within the latest official experimental Universal Credit statistics:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics#universal-credit-statistics

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of disability living allowance claimants have (a) appealed and (b) successfully appealed a negative decision on their personal independence payment application.

Justin Tomlinson: Data on the number and proportion of DLA reassessment claimants who have (a) appealed and (b) successfully appealed a negative decision on their Personal Independence Payment application is not available. National GB figures on the numbers and outcomes of DLA and PIP appeals can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2015

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new applicants for personal independence payments have no other source of income.

Justin Tomlinson: Personal independence payment (PIP) is a non-means-tested benefit. As such, no data is held on the income levels of claimants, as the Department does not collect information on income or capital as part of the PIP claiming process. PIP is paid as a contribution towards the additional costs of disability; other benefits are available for income replacement.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disability living allowance claimants have waited more than 28 days for their first personal independence payment following a decision to transfer them from one benefit to the other.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is between a decision being made on a personal independence payment application and a first payment being made on that claim.

Justin Tomlinson: The data is not readily available and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. For the majority of new claimants to personal independence payment (PIP), they will be paid any arrears of benefit within a few days of the decision being made. Regular payments will then start using a 4 week in arrears payment cycle. Some claimants may not be entitled to any arrears or may have to wait for PIP to go into payment following the decision on their claim. This includes where the 28 day run for reassessed claims is being applied (described further below), where further enquiries are required to establish bank details, where the qualifying period of 3 months has yet to be satisfied or the where the claimant is in hospital, a care home or prison and where PIP, or a component of PIP, is not payable until the claimant leaves that establishment. For existing claimants of disability living allowance (DLA) claiming PIP, they can continue to receive their DLA throughout their claim to PIP, so long as they comply with all the processes. Additionally, all claimants are paid DLA for a further 28 days following the weekly payday, immediately after the decision on their PIP claim is made. Successful claimants to PIP see no break in payment when they move from DLA to PIP, subject to other rules being satisfied, for example those relating to residency in a care home or hospital.

Veterans

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on meeting its obligations to veterans in accordance with the Military Covenant.

Justin Tomlinson: My Department takes its ongoing responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously. Good progress has been made in some key areas. DWP officials play an active part in the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group, which brings together officials from across Government with a number of service organisations. DWP also has a nominated Armed Forces Advocate who is responsible for ensuring that the needs of service personnel, their families and veterans are properly catered for by the Department. This means ensuring that these groups are not disadvantaged as a result of military service, and providing special treatment where appropriate.Every Jobcentre district has an “Armed Forces Champion”, who works with the Career Transition Partnership, and also links with providers and charities giving specialist support, such as the Royal British Legion.DWP has ensured that War Disablement Pensions and guaranteed income payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme will be fully disregarded in calculating an award of Universal Credit. Working with the Ministry of Defence we introduced the Armed Forces Independence Payment to provide financial support to service personnel and veterans seriously injured as a result of service to cover the extra costs they may have as a result of their injury. And we have ensured that ex-service personnel can have early access to the Work Programme. These are just some examples of how DWP is meeting its obligations to the Armed Forces Community through the benefits system and support in finding employment.

Access to Work Programme

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) supporting a person via the Access to Work programme and (b) paying out-of-work benefits to that person.

Justin Tomlinson: Access to Work covers a wide range of different types of support and the costs of this support vary considerably according to customers' needs and circumstances. The cost of paying out-of-work benefits to a given person would vary considerably according to that person's eligibility for and take-up of those benefits. This depends in turn on their individual circumstances and preferences.

Personal Independence Payment: Terminal Illnesses

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is for processing a claim for personal independence payment when the claimant is terminally ill.

Justin Tomlinson: The average (median) end-to-end clearance time for terminally ill claimants claiming personal independence payment (PIP) is 6 working days in April 2015, for both new claims and reassessment claims. Data on PIP claim clearance times is in the data tables published alongside the latest PIP statistical release:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-april-2015.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what statistics his Department collects on deaths of benefit claimants; and how it is decided and by whom in his Department which statistics on such claimants will be (a) collected and (b) published.

Priti Patel: Under the Social Security (Notification of Deaths) Regulations 2012 and s125 of Social Security Administration Act 1992, individual level death registration information of date of death, is provided to the Department so that appropriate action can be taken with their benefit. Additionally next of kin also provide information on the date of death of an individual. This information is not routinely compiled or published. Ministers specify the subjects on which they would like any new statistics to be produced and the Head of Profession for Statistics decides how the statistics will be produced and published in an impartial and objective manner. Statistics should be published as soon as the Head of Profession for Statistics deems they are ready and of the right quality, pre-announcing the publication in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority codes of practice. DWP Statistical releases are produced and published separately to and independently from other Departmental comment or publications.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with the Information Commissioner on the Freedom of Information request on deaths of benefit claimants made on 25 June 2013.

Priti Patel: Following the request made on the 25 June 2013 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) contacted the Department on 19 Sept 2013. The Department replied and the ICO issued a Decision Notice on 27 Nov 2013. On 23 Dec 2013 the ICO notified the Department that the complainant had made an application to appeal the decision notice. The Department decided not to join the appeal and the First Tier Tribunal decision, dated 14 May 2014, was to dismiss the appeal.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit who were (i) in the assessment phase, (ii) found fit to work, (iii) placed in the work-related activity group, (iv) placed in the support group and (v) with an appeal pending have died in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 6 November 2014 to Question UIN 212728.

Employment: Disability

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the rate of disability employment.

Justin Tomlinson: Last year saw an increase of 238,000 disabled people in work. The employment rate is now 46.3% - up 2.1% from last year. Our Disability Confident Campaign is ensuring that employers understand the benefits of employing disabled people. And our programmes, like Work Choice and Access to Work, are supporting disabled people into work. We will continue build on this success.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to review the effect of the benefit cap on children.

Justin Tomlinson: A suite of evaluation reports was published on 15 December 2014 and information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-cap-evaluation Further statistics are available by location and family size at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-february-2015

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on child poverty of the introduction of universal credit.

Priti Patel: Once fully rolled out Universal Credit will mean around 3.2 million households will be better off by an average of £178 a month. We estimate this new reform will lift up to 300,000 children out of poverty.500,000 working families are expected to receive help with childcare under Universal Credit.

Personal Independence Payment: Barking and Dagenham

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time was that an applicant waited for a personal independence payment assessment in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in the most recent period for which data is available.

Justin Tomlinson: The available information on average (median) waiting times, at a national level, has been published and is available from the Personal Independence Payment statistics home page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics. The Department is assessing the quality of the clearance time data at lower geographical levels and is considering the future release of such information into the public domain. These statistics will be published when they are ready, with the release pre-announced in line with United Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocols.

Employment: Disability

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of changes in the rate of disability employment in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson: Estimates of the UK disability employment rate can be found on the Office for National Statistics website at the following link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/may-2015/table-a08.xls

Social Security Benefits

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Fifth Report of the Work and Pensions Committee Session 2014-15, Benefits sanctions policy beyond the Oakley Review, HC 814, whether his Department plans to undertake a broad and independent review into benefit conditionality and sanctions.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 03 June 2015 to Question UIN 170

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the ages of children whose parents have been subject to welfare benefits sanctions.

Priti Patel: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Families

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking under his Department's social justice strategy to reduce family breakdown.

Priti Patel: This government is committed to strengthening families which are key to giving children the best start in life and supporting them to develop and flourish. We are funding provision which includes preventative relationship support and help for those experiencing difficulties. We are also piloting relationship education in perinatal classes and supporting Local Authorities to develop strategies to improve the quality of family relationships. In addition to this we are providing wider help for families via the Marriage Tax Allowance, introduction of shared parental leave, expansion of free childcare, the Troubled Families Programme and reforms to the adoption system.

Employment: Disability

Kevin Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to help people with disabilities into work and training.

Justin Tomlinson: We have extended Access to Work to support disabled people take up supported internships and traineeships. We are launching Specialist Employability Support to provide intensive back to work support for more disabled people. We will continue to work with employers to ensure that they understand the benefits of recruiting and retaining disabled people.

Food Banks

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effects of the benefits sanctions and conditionality regime on use of food banks.

Priti Patel: We have looked at this issue extensively and we agree with the conclusion reached by the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger, that the reasons for food bank use are complex and overlapping. There is no robust evidence that directly links sanctions and Food Bank use.

Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what change there has been in the number of working private renters claiming housing benefit since 2009-10.

Justin Tomlinson: The number of working private renters claiming HB since 2010 has increased by 225,000 as the economy has continued to grow and people move from out of work benefits into employment. Evidence suggests that around a third of those who claim in-work HB cease to claim HB within twelve months.

Work Programme

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what extra support his Department plans to provide to people who have not yet found employment through the Work Programme.

Priti Patel: The Work Programme is succeeding. It is helping push long-term unemployment to its lowest level in over 5 years, and is transforming people’s lives. But some people complete the programme without finding sustainable jobs. In April 2014 we introduced the intensive Help to Work package of support for these people. The programme is designed to quickly address claimants’ remaining barriers to work.

*No heading*

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on maintaining the level of (a) employment and support allowance, (b) personal independence payment and (c) attendance allowance for disabled claimants.

Justin Tomlinson: The Secretary of State is currently reviewing how we spend money on welfare . The outcome of this will be announced when the work is complete. Our reforms demonstrate our strong record of supporting disabled people. We introduced PIP to ensure more support is going to those who need it. Over 700,000 of those stuck on incapacity benefits under Labour are now preparing or looking for work. Over the last Parliament spending on disability benefits increased in real terms, and disability employment has increased by 238,000 over the last year.

Home Office

Welsh Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what resources her Department has allocated to the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit in 2014-15; and what changes to those resources are expected in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Karen Bradley: The Welsh Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit does receive funding from the Counter Terrorism Policing Grant. The Home Office does not publically provide a breakdown of the Counter Terrorism Policing Grant by region or capability for security reasons.In the Spending Round 2013, specific funding for counter-terrorism was protected to 2015-16. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) in December 2013 confirmed that the police CT resource budget would be at least £564 million for 2014-15. A WMS in December 2014 confirmed at least the same amount would be available for 2015-16. In addition, HM Treasury has increased funding in 2015-16 for counter terrorism policing by a further £14.9 million to strengthen our capabilities in response to the increased threat from terrorism.Whilst budgets have been set for 2015-16, budgets for future years will be determined after the upcoming Spending Review.

Espionage: Disclosure of Information

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Sunday Times article, British spies betrayed to Russians and Chinese, published on 14 June 2015, who authorised the senior Home Office official to make the comment quoted in that article.

Mr John Hayes: It is the long standing policy of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters. As the Home Secretary and others have already made clear, Edward Snowden’s actions have damaged the national security of the UK. Since the theft of the National Security Agency and the Government Communications Headquarters documents, and since the allegations about secret capabilities contained in those documents were made public, this country is at greater risk.

Deportation

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she takes to ensure compliance with the UK's international legal obligations on non-refoulement when deporting people to conflict affected countries.

James Brokenshire: In accordance with the Refugee Convention and our other international obligations, the UK carefully considers all asylum claims, so that no-one is returned to a country where they have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or political opinion, or to a country where they would be at real risk of serious harm as a result, for example, of indiscriminate violence due to armed conflict. Those whose applications are rejected and whose appeal rights are exhausted are required to leave the UK and their removal will be enforced if they fail to do so.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Norfolk

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process and criteria was for the appointment of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Norfolk to adjudicate on the disbursement of the Child Abuse Inquiry Support Fund and The Child and Adult Victims of Sexual Abuse Support Fund; and what qualifications the PCC for Norfolk has to carry out that task.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she has outsourced responsibility for the adjudication of bids for the Child Abuse Inquiry Support Fund and The Child and Adult Victims of Sexual Abuse Support Fund to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk.

Karen Bradley: Final decisions on funding were confirmed by an Oversight Group jointly chaired by the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner and the Home Office. Allocating the funding in this way ensured that all victims of child sexual abuse receive the support they need, when they need it. The process recognises both the urgency of supporting victims now, and the need to ensure that a strategic sustainable national response is established. The Chief Constable for Norfolk is the National Policing Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation and the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner is committed to supporting victims of sexual abuse as evidenced through its Police and Crime Plan. It is therefore entirely appropriate to draw on this expertise and commitment in the effective allocation of funding to support survivors of child sexual abuse.

MI5: British Overseas Territories

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 2060, whether the Government is liaising with British Overseas Territories about ratification of the convention.

Mr John Hayes: We intend our ratification to apply to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We will encourage the overseas territories to consider ratification when they are in a position to do so. However, this is a matter for them to decide.

Firearms: Licensing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many shotgun and firearms permit holders there were in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The table provided below contains statistics on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue in England and Wales as at 31 March each year from 2009/10 to 2013/14.Number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue as at 31 March each year, England and Wales, 2009/10 to 2013/14Firearm certificates on issueShotgun certificates on issue2009/10141,852580,6532010/11141,840564,2692011/12143,166562,6962012/13147,695570,7262013/14151,413582,923 



copy of table 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27 KB)

Entry Clearances

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions were made from outside the UK for (a) entry clearance and (b) extension of stay in relation to non-European Economic Area partner applications in each year since 2008; and how many of those applications were (i) successful, (ii) unsuccessful, (iii) withdrawn and (iv) lapsed.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions were made from within the UK for (a) entry clearance and (b) extension of stay in relation to non-European Economic Area partner applications in each year since 2008; and how many of those applications were (i) successful, (ii) unsuccessful, (iii) withdrawn and (iv) lapsed.

James Brokenshire: The available published information is shown in the following tables,TABLE 1TABLE 2The figures provided relate to partners in the family immigration category.Withdrawn and lapsed applications are not available in the published extensions data.The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on entry clearance visa decisions by category in table vi_01_q (Entry clearance visas tables volume 1) and extension of stay decisions in table ex_01_q within the ‘Immigration Statistics’ release. The published statistics do not distinguish between applications made and decided under the family Immigration Rules in force before and from 9 July 2012. Grants and other case resolutions do not necessarily correspond to an application made in the same period.A copy of the latest release, “Immigration Statistics January to March 2015”, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.



TABLE 1
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27 KB)




TABLE 2
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.5 KB)

Infrastructure: Foreign Investment in UK

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential risks posed to UK national security by investments in critical national infrastructure by foreign (a) state-owned enterprises and (b) sovereign wealth funds; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: Foreign investment, including into our critical national infrastructure, is vital for our prosperity and this Government welcomes it. We must, though, consider carefully any risks that such investments may present, including to our national security. Prosperity and security are mutually reinforcing. The National Security Council undertakes this important task.

Visas

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's practice is in cases in which hon. Members send further documentary evidence to UK Visas and Immigration on visitor's applications which have been refused after meeting constituents who are visa sponsors; whether that body considers that evidence as part of the original application; whether it is her Department's policy to give advice in all such cases that a new application should be made; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Marriage Certificates

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish plans for changes to marriage certificates to allow the names of both parents to be recorded.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Female Genital Mutilation

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent female genital mutilation in communities affected by that practice.

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what programmes and projects her Department funds that carry out community engagement work to raise awareness of female genital mutilation.

Karen Bradley: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.The organisations that were funded were:Africa Advocacy Foundation;All FM;BAWSO (Black Association of Women Step Out);Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid;FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development);Integrate Bristol;Katherine Low Settlement;Manchester BME Network;Manor Garden Welfare Trust;NESTAC (New Step for African Community);Safe Hands for Mothers;and Springfield Community FlatThe Government’s specialist Home Office-led FGM Unit launched on 5 December 2014. The Unit provides outreach support to local areas and communities in England and Wales, coordinates cross-Government activity, acts as a hub for effective practice and works with the police, voluntary and community sector, survivors and professionals to develop policies and practices to end FGM.Additionally, through the Serious Crime Act 2015, we are introducing a new mandatory reporting duty which requires known cases of FGM to be reported to the police.

Immigration Controls

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2014 to Question 218487, on immigration controls, when she plans to publish the results of the policy review referred to in that Answer.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Office

Parades: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information she holds on the number of parades held in Northern Ireland in 2014 categorised by the Parades Commission as (a) loyal order or loyalist, (b) community or church based and (c) republican or nationalist in character.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: Based on the information contained in the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Annual Report and Accounts for the Financial Year 2013/14, there were:(a) 2,766 parades categorised as having been organised by the loyal orders and broad Unionist tradition;(b) 1,780 parades categorised as ‘other’ (this figure includes charity, civic, rural and sporting events, as well as church parades); and(c) 119 categorised as having been organised by Nationalist groups.The Parades Commission Annual Report and Accounts for Financial Year 2014/15 are currently being prepared and are due to be published over the course of the next month. A copy will be laid in the Library of the House at that time.

Electoral Register: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many voters were added to the electoral register between 1 December 2014 and 1 April 2015 in each constituency in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace: The following information shows the figures for the number of voters that were added to the revised electoral register on 1 December 2014 and 1 April 2015 for each constituency in Northern Ireland. Additionally the numbers of voters that were added to the electoral register on the 29 April 2015 as a result of the late registration provisions that apply in advance of an election are also shown.1 December 2014 revised registerPeriodOfficeConstituencyAdditions01/12/2014BelfastBelfast South319  Belfast West252 NewtownardsNorth Down172  Strangford129  Belfast East147 NewtownabbeyEast Antrim276  South Antrim176  Belfast North272 Banbridge 1Upper Bann226  Newry & Armagh339 Banbridge 2South Down247  Lagan Valley360 OmaghFermanagh & South Tyrone465  West Tyrone230 BallymenaNorth Antrim201  Mid Ulster327 LondonderryFoyle301  East Londonderry310 Total47491 April 2015 revised registerPeriodOfficeConstituencyAdditions01/04/2015BelfastBelfast South320  Belfast West135 NewtownardsNorth Down173  Strangford134  Belfast East140 NewtownabbeyEast Antrim82  South Antrim135  Belfast North214 Banbridge 1Upper Bann169  Newry & Armagh159 Banbridge 2South Down189  Lagan Valley203 OmaghFermanagh & South Tyrone191  West Tyrone124 BallymenaNorth Antrim171  Mid Ulster91 LondonderryFoyle184  East Londonderry161 Total 297529 April 2015 revised register – late registration PeriodOfficeConstituencyAdditions29/04/2015 Late Registration BelfastBelfast South733  Belfast West446 NewtownardsNorth Down380  Strangford287  Belfast East626 NewtownabbeyEast Antrim447  South Antrim408  Belfast North681 Banbridge 1Upper Bann396  Newry & Armagh643 Banbridge 2South Down430  Lagan Valley484 OmaghFermanagh & South Tyrone942  West Tyrone449 BallymenaNorth Antrim364  Mid Ulster380 LondonderryFoyle556  East Londonderry267 Total 8919

Department of Health

Carers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the National Audit Office in its report on the Care Act first-phase reforms, published in June 2015, on potential underestimation of demand for assessments and services for carers equating to a rise of £27 million in extra assessments and services.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to monitor the costs to local authorities of the Care Act 2014; and if he will make it his policy to provide additional funding to the councils which experience increased demand for their services.

Alistair Burt: Local authorities have been provided with £470 million in total for the cost of the new duties in the Care Act 2014 which came into effect in April 2015 and to support them in preparing for the reforms planned for April 2016. The process for assessing the costs was comprehensive and fully involved local government. The new burdens identified have been fully funded.   The National Audit Office (NAO) considered the Department’s approach to supporting delivery of the Care Act reforms, and concluded that this “has been implemented well, and shows good practice from which other programmes could learn.”   In relation to the process of assessing potential costs, the NAO’s report recognises the inherent difficulty of estimating demand, since this is dependent on individual behaviour. As a result, the NAO recognises that the Department’s estimate of the costs of the new rights for carers is based on an assumption that is “as reasonable” (paragraph 3.10) as that of NAO.   The Department has consistently acknowledged the difficulty of estimating these costs precisely, and undertook a cost modelling exercise with around 120 local authorities to review its assumptions. Following that work, the Department agreed with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association a process for the ongoing monitoring of specified demand data in all local authorities from 1 April 2015, based on the areas of most significant risk as identified by local authorities.   The new data collection covers the new burdens from the Care Act 2014 related to carers’ rights, the national minimum eligibility threshold, assessments for self-funders, deferred payment agreements, care and support in prisons, new rights to advocacy and safeguarding. It is being collected quarterly from 1 April 2015 as part of the regular Care Act implementation stocktakes of local authorities and will be reported to the Care and Support Reform Programme Board. It will help local government, in partnership with the Department, to understand whether the demand experienced is consistent with the assumptions made, and to consider cases where additional targeted support may be required.   The Department continues to work directly with local authorities and partners to support effective and efficient implementation, building on the additional £30 million investment support implementation provided in the 2014/15 year.

Haematological Cancer

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report, Destination: Cure - arriving at a better future for people with blood cancer by Anthony Nolan; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Since 2011, the Department has provided our delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and Anthony Nolan, a total of £16 million in additional, new funding to improve stem cell transplantation services in the United Kingdom. A further £3 million investment was announced in March 2015.   This funding has led to a tangible improvement in the availability of stem cells in the UK and the achievements include:   - More UK patients received a stem cell transplant in 2014 than ever before. - Over 60% of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients are now able to find a well matched donor compared to only 40% in 2010. - A single unified bone marrow donor registry has been created streamlining the provision of stem cells and reducing the time to provide cells from adult donors. - The proportion of patients receiving cord blood from UK donors has significantly increased. - The increased use of UK-sourced stem cells has meant that more donors than ever are available to donate leading to a significant cost saving by reducing the need to import stem cells.   The report ‘Destination Cure – arriving at a better future’ from Anthony Nolan is a timely contribution to the debate on the future of this work.

Radiotherapy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what peer-reviewed evidence NHS England has assessed to inform its decision on the use of proton beam therapy as a treatment for extracranial indications.

Jane Ellison: NHS England continues to expand the list of clinical indications for which proton beam therapy is most beneficial. It commissions independent evidence based reviews on specific diagnoses, which highlight either proof of principle for the use of protons, such as paediatric cancer, or where there is no evidence, such as prostate cancer.   The versions of three proton beam therapy policies that are out for consultation are available on the NHS England website, listed under the ‘Cancer’ section, at:   www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/specialised-services-consultation   Each policy contains information on the evidence base.

Health Education: Low Incomes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to provide additional information on (a) local food skills training, (b) eating well on a budget and (c) other topics to parents on low incomes when they receive Healthy Start vouchers.

Jane Ellison: Healthy Start recipients already receive a range of specific advice when claiming. Healthy Start applications must be signed by a registered health professional by law, including providing confirmation that they have given health related advice to the applicant. When the claimant is sent their first set of vouchers the Department provides a simple user guide to Healthy Start beneficiaries, this includes useful contacts for information and advice, including Start4Life which provides support during pregnancy, birth and parenthood. The Healthy Start website has tips for healthy eating, getting the most from Healthy Start items, and quick and easy recipes using milk, fruit and vegetables. The Department does not provide more detailed information on local food skills training, as provision of support to parents on low incomes is part of the public health responsibilities of Local Authorities, working with the National Health Service and other local partners. Health professionals are ideally placed to talk to women about local services and how to access them, and offer encouragement, information and advice on issues such as healthy eating, breastfeeding and vitamins.

Medical Records: Internet

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have accessed medical records online since April 2015.

George Freeman: In April 2015 the total number of times a patient had accessed their record or a part of their record was 348,300.   This data is at present indicative, and is dependent on suppliers’ ability to provide detailed management information reports.

Epilepsy: Drugs

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the clarity and accuracy of warnings on anti-convulsant drugs for women with epilepsy who are also pregnant on the risk of developmental disorders and birth defects associated with the use of such drugs.

George Freeman: In 2013 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) initiated a Europe-wide review of the risk of developmental problems in children born to mothers who take the anticonvulsant drug valproate in pregnancy. This followed the publication of new studies providing further clarity and accuracy on the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children of mothers who took valproate in pregnancy.   As a result of this assessment the MHRA has better defined the size and nature of the risk of developmental disorders in updated product information for healthcare professionals and patients. The MHRA recommend that valproate should not be used in girls, women who can become pregnant or pregnant women unless other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated and that the need for continued treatment should be reviewed regularly.   There is now a mandatory requirement for all manufacturers to include the very latest information about the known risks of sodium valproate to the unborn child. The product information for healthcare professionals and patients has been updated to contain strengthened warnings about use in pregnancy and in women of child bearing age. New educational materials have been produced for use by healthcare professionals and patients that further highlight warnings of the risk of sodium valproate to the unborn child.

Epilepsy: Drugs

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information the Government gave to doctors and patients about the risks for unborn children of taking certain anti-convulsant drugs in pregnancy prior to the warning issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in January 2013.

George Freeman: The warning issued in January 2013 by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) related specifically to the new data that became available on the risk to the unborn child of using valproate during pregnancy. Prior to the warning issued by the MHRA in January 2013, the product information for valproate has contained warnings about the teratogenic potential of the drug in animals and the possible hazard to women of childbearing age since the early 1970s. As new data has come to light the product information has been regularly updated to include the known risk of birth defects in humans and the risk of developmental delay and autistic spectrum disorders.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information he has on whether his Department had knowledge prior to 2000 of the fact that the anti-convulsant drug Epilim, Sanofi Aventis, known previously as Sanofi Pharma, was potentially teratogenic to foetuses.

George Freeman: The information available for Epilim in 1974 contained a warning that the compound was known to be teratogenic in animals and that any known hazards should be balanced against benefit when used in human pregnancy.   In January 1983 the Committee on Safety of Medicines published warnings about reported increase of incidence of congenital malformations in association with sodium valproate; this was based mainly on various epidemiological studies. Further advice was published in June 1993 in relation to an increased risk of neural tube defects associated with sodium valproate, the need to inform women of the potential consequences and for healthcare professionals to refer the patient to an appropriate specialist, in addition to ensuring that appropriate screening is in place.

Colorectal Cancer: Diagnosis

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the outcomes for bowel cancer patients through early diagnosis.

Jane Ellison: Early diagnosis of cancer is a major priority for this Government in helping us to improve cancer survival. We have invested in Be Clear on Cancer campaigns since 2010/11, including two national bowel cancer campaigns in 2012 to raise awareness of blood in poo and encourage people with this and other bowel cancer symptoms to visit their doctor without delay. Public Health England working with the Department, NHS England and other partners will continue to keep these campaigns under review.   Screening for asymptomatic cancer also helps to detect cancer early and in the period from 2010-11 to 2014-15, we invested over £170 million in expanding and improving cancer screening programmes including the NHS Bowel Screening Programme in England. Each year over three million men and women aged 60 to 74 are sent a self-sampling kit, Faecal Occult Blood test (FOBt) to use in the privacy of their own homes. The kit is then returned by post to a regional laboratory (programme hub). People are invited to participate every two years. Improvements to the NHS Bowel Screening Programme included the introduction of Bowel Scope Screening (BSS) into the current programme. BSS is an alternative and complementary bowel screening methodology to FOBt and roll-out to all screening centres in England by the end of 2016 is on track.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is in the process of updating the “Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer” (2005) to ensure that it reflects latest evidence and can continue to support general practitioners to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer, including bowel cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate.

Organs: Donors

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness and acceptance of the importance of organ donation.

Jane Ellison: We are supporting a number of initiatives to raise awareness and to encourage more people to consent to organ donation. This will give many more people the opportunity of a transplant. Government funding through NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) supports campaigns to promote public awareness about the importance of organ donation and transplantation.   NHSBT also works collaboratively with a number of partners in the private, public and third sectors to promote organ donation, such as the Boots Advantage Card. People can also add their name to the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) via Government owned channels such as applying for a driving licence and paying car tax online.   The Department also supports a number of initiatives to raise awareness in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities to become donors. Less than 5% of deceased organ donors are BAME, yet patients from BAME communities represent around a quarter of people waiting for an organ transplant.   Underpinning NHSBT’s work to promote organ donation is encouraging people to join the ODR and to let their families and friends know that they have made a decision to donate. Encouraging this conversation is important as families are more likely to support donation if they know that is what they wanted. This was the focus of National Transplant Week in 2014. Plans for the 2015 event are being developed.

Royal Sussex County Hospital: Construction

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date the new building work at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton is expected to commence.

Jane Ellison: We are advised that the approval process of the final business case for the 3Ts development at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is ongoing between the Trust and the approving bodies, including the NHS Trust Development Authority, the Department of Health and Her Majesty’s Treasury.   Until approval has been given, it is not possible to commit to timescales for building to commence. Building work will commence as soon as possible following the necessary approvals.

Eating Disorders

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have an eating disorder in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Data for the number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder are not collected.   Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows admitted patient activity for those being treated for an eating disorder.   We have provided a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis for eating disorders at England level from 2009-10 to 2013-14.   This data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on one or more occasion.   Table: Count of FAEs1 with a primary diagnosis2 of an eating disorder3 at England level from 2009-10 to 2013-144   YearFAEs2009-102,0672010-111,9632011-122,2872012-132,3812013-142,868   Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector   Notes: 1. An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2.The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.   3. The codes used to classify the following eating disorders are:   Anorexia F50.0 Anorexia nervosa F50.1 Atypical anorexia nervosa   Bulimia F50.2 Bulimia nervosa F50.3 Atypical bulimia nervosa   Other Eating Disorders F50.4 Overeating associated with other psychological disturbances F50.5 Vomiting associated with other psychological disturbances F50.8 Other eating disorders F50.9 Eating disorder, unspecified 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information. Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

Sports: Public Participation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the conclusion in Sport England's latest Active People Survey that the number of people who have participated in sport at least once a week has declined compared to the previous six months, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that finding; and if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for (a) Culture, Media and Sport and (b) Education the implications for their policies of that finding.

Jane Ellison: Following the publication of the June 2015 Active People Survey data on sport, the Minister for Sport has announced a new strategy on Sport which will be developed over the coming months. As part of this, we will be working closely with the Minister for Sport and the Minister for Children and Families to identify what other action is necessary to encourage people to be more physically active.

Exercise: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report from UK Active entitled Generation Inactive, published on 16 June 2015, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that report that half of seven-year-olds are not getting the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity; whether he plans to respond to the report; and if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for (a) Culture, Media and Sport and (b) Education the implications for their policies of that finding.

Jane Ellison: The Government welcomes the report from UK Active and will consider its findings carefully. The Minister for Sport has announced a new strategy on Sport which will be developed over the coming months. As part of this, we will be working closely with both the Minister for Sport and the Minister for Children and Families to identify what other action is necessary to encourage children and young people to be more physically active.

Anorexia: Death

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the proportion of anorexia nervosa patients which dies prematurely each year from (a) complications arising from that condition and (b) suicide.

Alistair Burt: The data requested are not collected.

Mental Illness: Mortality Rates

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which condition has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness.

Alistair Burt: This information is not collected. The Office for National Statistics, who collect mortality data, advise that they only collect the data on the primary or secondary cause of death as per the death certificate.

Morquio Syndrome: Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons NHS England's announcement on whether it will grant interim funding for the Vimizim drug has been rescheduled from 25 to 30 June 2015.

George Freeman: The decision on the interim funding of Vimizim (elosulfase alfa) will be made by NHS England by the end of June 2015. NHS England has not scheduled a date for the announcement of this decision.   Clinical commissioning policies setting out NHS England’s position on investing in a number of specific specialised services and treatments will be published on the NHS England website as soon as possible following final decisions being taken.   In addition to publishing clinical commissioning policies on its website, NHS England will be engaging with stakeholder groups with particular interest in specific policies to ensure that they are aware of NHS England’s decisions and their implications for patients and service users. A communications plan is currently in development.

Obstetrics: Standards

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of specialist obstetrician care provided to mothers expecting multiple births; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the NICE guidelines on management of twin and triplet pregnancies in the antenatal period, published in 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional provision his Department plans to make to improve health outcomes for multiple birth babies over the next five years.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of health outcomes for multiple birth babies; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: Evidence based advice on the care of women with multiple pregnancies is set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines ‘Multiple Pregnancies – The management of twin and triplet pregnancies in the antenatal period’. In line with these guidelines, we would expect clinical care for women with twin and triplet pregnancies to be provided by a nominated multidisciplinary team consisting of a core team, including named specialist obstetricians, who have experience and knowledge of managing twin and triplet pregnancies. The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the NICE guidelines. It is for local maternity care providers to determine how best to deliver services for women with multiple pregnancies in their area. In doing so we would expect them to give due regard to NICE guidance.   MBRRACE-UK published (on 10 June 2015) a Government funded Perinatal Mortality Surveillance report for 2013. This found that, multiple births were associated with significantly high rates of mortality, with an almost fivefold increase in the neonatal mortality for twins (4.86 deaths per 1,000 live births) and over a twelve fold increase for triplets and higher order births (12.43 deaths per 1,000 live births). Preterm delivery is a major factor in multiple birth and we have included low birth weight as an indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework. NHS England is undertaking a major review of the commissioning of National Health Service maternity services, in line with commitments made in the NHS Five Year Forward View. The review will assess current maternity care provision and consider how services should be developed to meet the changing needs of women and babies.

Pregnancy: Safety

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patient safety incidents involving multiple pregnancies occurred in each of the last five years; and what total amount was paid by the NHS as a result of litigation relating to such incidents.

Ben Gummer: The table on patient safety incidents illustrates the number of incidents reported to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) from England and Wales where the incident report contained keywords indicating multiple pregnancies (the inclusion of these keywords may not always indicate the incident directly affected a multiple pregnancy for example, reference in the incident report may be made to previous pregnancies. The harm reported may relate to the mother or to one or more foetuses/infants). The incidents recorded were reported as occurring from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014 (if the incident had been uploaded to the NRLS by 30 April 2015).   Patient safety incidents with keywords indicating multiple pregnancies CountryCalendar Year20102011201220132014England1,9892,3312,4802,6562,712Wales651089711399Total2,0542,4392,5772,7692,811 Source: NHS England Date: June 2015   The table on NHS Litigation (NHS LA) shows payments made on obstetrics claims where twins or triplets are mentioned in the incident details as at 31 May 2015. The table shows cases involving twins and triplets, and the data has been extracted using the term ‘multiple birth’. In addition, there can often be a time lag of several years between an incident and a claim and therefore the figures in the table above may be understated.   NHS LA payments made on obstetrics claims involving twins and triplets Incident YearTotal Paid2009/10£866,8562010/11£409,8702011/12£577,5422012/13£95,7352013/14£11,498 Source: NHS LA Date: June 2015

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on mental health in England in each year since 2000.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not have information on the level of National Health Service expenditure on mental health in England in the financial years 2000/01, 2001/02 nor 2002/03. Details of the level of expenditure by the NHS on mental health in England from 2003/04 until 2012/13 is detailed in the table below.   Aggregate expenditure on mental health disorders by Primary Care Trust (PCT), for financial years 2003/04 to 2012/13 Financial YearExpenditure (£ billion)2003/046.562004/057.222005/067.822006/078.412007/089.172008/099.792009/10.10.612010/1110.962011/1211.162012/1311.28   Source: NHS England Programme Budget Data The information is also available at:   https://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/health-investment-network/news/2012-13-programme-budgeting-data-is-now-available   Aggregate PCT expenditure is not yet available for 2013/14. However, NHS England advise that total mental health spending in 2013/14 was £11.362 billion with £11.664 billion planned in 2014/15, an increase of £302 million.

Primary Health Care: Expenditure

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on primary care in England in each year since 2000.

Alistair Burt: Total spend on primary care is reported in the Department’s annual accounts. This includes general practice, primary dental services, primary eyecare services, community pharmacy and drugs prescribed in the community.   YearExpenditure on Primary Healthcare (£000s)1999-0010,693,3772000-0111,449,6222001-0212,844,4822002-0313,712,4392003-0414,949,1062004-0516,598,8472005-0618,152,7042006-0718,630,7982007-0819,160,8022008-0919,923,4242009-1020,870,7572010-1121,374,4472011-1221,636,5582012-1321,431,000   Notes:   The figures are taken from the published National Health Service (England) Summarised Account (1999-2000 to 2010-11) and the Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts (2011-12 and 2012-13).   These figures represent the amount of expenditure on the purchase Primary Healthcare by commissioners. This is in the context that Primary Care Groups (years 1999-2000 to 2001-02), primary care trusts (years 2000-01 to 2012-13) health authorities (years 1999-2000 to 2001-02) and strategic health authorities (years 2002-03 to 2012-13) were responsible for commissioning healthcare from providers based on the needs of their local population.   Following the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities at 31 March 2013 NHS England became responsible for the commissioning of healthcare in England, however, data on primary and secondary healthcare was not collected in 2013-14 by healthcare area and so no data is available for that financial year. Accounts data for the financial year 2014-15 is not yet published.

Social Services: Expenditure

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on social care in England in each year since 2000.

Alistair Burt: Overall National Health Service spend on social care is not collected centrally.

Better Care Fund

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England has allocated to each local authority for 2015 for the Better Care Fund.

Alistair Burt: NHS England has not allocated any money directly to local authorities in 2015/16 for the Better Care Fund (BCF). Rather, it has ring-fenced £3.46 billion of clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations in 2015/16 for inclusion in the BCF, with each CCG then contributing its proportion of that £3.46 billion to a pooled budget established with the appropriate local authority. Of the £3.46 billion, £1.1 billion is distributed using the social care formula and then mapped to CCGs. The remaining £2.36 billion is distributed using the CCG formula and then mapped to local authorities.   The attached table shows the mandatory contribution made by each CCG to each local authority’s pooled budget. Due to a lack of co-terminosity, some CCGs have contributed to more than one pooled budget. 



Contribution by CCG to each local authority's BCF
(Word Document, 30.52 KB)

Mental Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what performance targets his Department has set for the MindEd online service; and how many people have opened a MindEd account since the creation of that service.

Alistair Burt: The Department has not set performance targets for the MindEd e-portal.   The Department invested £3 million over two years in the development of the MindEd e-portal. Following the launch of MindEd in 2014, Health Education England (HEE) assumed responsibility for programme, and will review, maintain and promote the e-portal as set out in the 2015-16 Mandate to HEE.   According to data from May 2015, there are currently 16,113 registered users of the e-portal and 31,080 learning sessions have been completed.

Mental Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of NHS England's Tier 4 CAMHS report 2014 excluding the allocation of resource for additional beds.

Alistair Burt: Progress on the 2014 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Tier 4 Report has recently been reviewed and an update provided to the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group.   In addition to the 56 additional beds that have been commissioned: - a standardised referral and assessment process has been developed, tested and fully implemented; - this is supported by identified access assessors who help ensure an consistent referral process; - a national database has been implemented to support the operation of a live bed state and routine monitoring of delayed transfers, waits for admission and long distance transfers; - a range of guidance has been produced to support the standardisation and sharing of good practice relating to a number of aspects of care management; and - work is in progress looking at the longer term capacity needs in the light of the plan to strengthen services in community and other out of hospital settings.

Mental Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to issue guidance to clinical commissioning groups (CCG) on the Transformation plans required by NHS England for funding to be allocated for children and young people's mental health service transformation; and how many CCGs have produced a Transformation plan to date.

Alistair Burt: NHS England and the Department are working with partners to jointly produce national guidance to support local areas develop local transformation plans for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. NHS England aim to publish the guidance in early July.   In the interim, NHS England has written to all clinical commissioning groups encouraging them to work with their partners from across the National Health Service, public health, local authority, youth justice and education sector, and clinical networks have been working locally to support joint planning.   NHS England is not aware of any plans submitted before the guidance has been issued but considerable work is underway.

Diabetes

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England were at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison: Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, also known as pre-diabetes or impaired glucose regulation, refers to raised blood glucose levels, but not in the diabetic range. People with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia are at increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. The National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network is developing estimates of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia at a local level (local authority and clinical commissioning group). These are expected to be available by late summer 2015.

Diabetes

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 1756 on diabetes, whether the action plan will take the form of a national strategy for diabetes; when the action plan for diabetes will be published; whether progress against that plan will be reviewed regularly; and what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) Public Health England on the development of that action plan.

Jane Ellison: Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government. Working with NHS England and Public Health England, we are in the very early stages of developing an action plan to improve the outcomes of people with and at risk of diabetes. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Mental Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to give mental health greater priority within the NHS.

Alistair Burt: This Government will continue to take mental health as seriously as physical health and to hold the National Health Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate, ensuring that mental and physical health conditions are given equal priority.   This Government legislated for parity of esteem between mental and physical health via the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England sets a clear objective for NHS England to deliver parity of esteem. The Mandate also makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services’.   Spending on mental health is estimated to have increased by £302 million in 2014/15, with total mental health spending rising from £11.362 billion in 2013/14 to £11.664 billion planned in 2014/15, an increase of 0.6% in real terms. In the planning requirements for 2015/16, commissioners were required to invest additionally in mental health in line with their increase in allocation. The total planned additional spend is £376 million, an increase of 4.5%. This includes £70 million of mental health allocation held centrally within plans.   We have also introduced the first treatment targets to make sure people get the prompt support they need and mental health is treated on the same terms as physical health. More people than ever before are receiving talking therapies and over the spending review period 2010-2015 the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme received over £460 million of Government investment. We are working hard to tackle mental health stigma, and work continues to improve early intervention services to make sure that people get the care they need to prevent crisis situations happening.   We hope that this reassures the hon. Member that this Government remains committed to improving the mental health of the nation.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Political Levy

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 4 March 2009, Official Report, column 1698W, on trade unions: political levy, how many and what proportion of members of each trade union in Great Britain with a political fund have opted out of the political levy according to the most recent records held by the Certification Officer.

Nick Boles: I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to my hon Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) to UIN 1755.

Environment Protection: Taxation

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of direct costs to the energy intensive industry resulting from the introduction of legislative proposals on a carbon price floor.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last met with representatives of the energy intensive industry to discuss the disparity between (a) UK carbon prices under the carbon price floor and (b) such prices in the rest of Europe.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the carbon price floor on (a) carbon leakage rates, (b) the relocation of energy intensive industry overseas and (c) UK and EU carbon dioxide emissions.

Anna Soubry: The costs of the Carbon Price Floor on business are largely indirect, passed through in bills by their electricity supplier. However, the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s Prices and Bills report estimates that in 2014 the Carbon Price Floor increased the price per MWh of electricity for the average uncompensated energy intensive business by £4. The Government pays compensation to the most electricity intensive industries which reduces the price impact for the average compensated energy intensive business in 2014 to £2 per MWh.My Department keeps the risk of carbon leakage under regular review.

Exports: Licensing

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which exporters have taken legal action as a result of the Export Control Organisation's refusal to grant them an export licence since May 2010; when each licence was refused; what the intended country of destination was of each such licence; what type of licence was applied for; and what the outcome was of each such legal case.

Anna Soubry: No exporters have taken such legal action against the Export Control Organisation in this timeframe.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2015 to Question 1839, what discretionary fees and payments (a) have been and (b) will be made to each of those firms.

Anna Soubry: The fees paid or to be paid to the firms involved in the recent sale of Royal Mail shares by the Government do not include a discretionary element.

Aerospace Industry

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of foreign ownership of UK-based companies on productivity in the aerospace sector; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Whilst no assessment has been made of the impact of foreign ownership in the aerospace sector on productivity, ONS labour productivity statistics from Q4 2014 show that productivity in the transport equipment sector, which includes aerospace, has been strong relative to the rest of the economy both before and after the financial crisis[1]. Since 2008, output per hour in the sector has grown at a rate of 5% per year. This was the highest rate of growth of any sector in the economy. [1] ONS (2015) Labour Productivity, Q4 2014http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/productivity/labour-productivity/q4-2014/stbq414.html

Foreign Companies: Regulation

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assumptions his Department has made about the powers at its disposal to regulate investments by overseas (a) state-owned enterprises and (b) sovereign wealth funds; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: The UK’s traditional openness to trade and investment has served us well. This is increasingly important in a global economy where we compete for new investment and capital.   Certain investments, which may include those by state-owned enterprises or sovereign wealth funds, will be considered by the relevant competition authorities to assess whether they raise competition concerns. If a particular case gives rise to legitimate matters of public interest other than competition, UK Ministers have formal powers to intervene. In addition, the Takeover Panel has effective disciplinary powers and enforcement powers which can be used if it believes the Takeover Code has been contravened.

Minimum Wage

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that employers comply with minimum wage legislation; and how many prosecutions there have been for non-compliance in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: The Government is committed to increasing compliance with National Minimum Wage legislation and the effective enforcement of it. HMRC responds to every complaint it receives and conducts risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is perceived to be a higher risk of workers not being paid the National Minimum Wage.   The Government has increased the NMW penalty so that employers that break the law face a penalty equivalent to the arrears they owe, up to a maximum penalty of £20,000 per worker.   Employers are also named publically under the Government’s NMW naming scheme for non-payment. So far, 210 employers have been named for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £248,000. In total, HMRC has recovered over £57m in arrears for workers since 1999/2000.   Prosecution is reserved for the most serious cases. HMRC will refer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service who will decide whether to prosecute. Prosecution does not necessarily result in arrears being paid to workers.   The number of NMW prosecutions for non-compliance in each of the last five years is set out below:   2014: 0 2013: 1 2012: 0 2011: 0 2010: 1   Anyone who thinks they might be entitled to the minimum wage but have not been paid it should call the ACAS Helpline on 0300 123 1100.

Apprentices

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of employers offer apprenticeships to 16 to 19 year olds in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency.

Nick Boles: Information on the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships is not centrally collected. However, data from the 2014 UKCES Employer Perspectives Survey[1] show that 16 per cent of all employers in the UK offered apprenticeships. The majority of these (15% of all employers) were formal Apprenticeships.   Among those employers offering formal Apprenticeships in the UK, 74 per cent offered them to 16 to 18 year olds and 75 per cent offered them to 19 to 24 year olds. Data is not available for the 16 to 19 age group or at regional or constituency levels. [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/373769/14.11.11._EPS_2014_-_Main_Report_full_V2.pdf (p.90)

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Firearms

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what year he plans to introduce a replacement for the SA80 assault rifle.

Mr Philip Dunne: The SA80 rifle is due to go out of service in 2025 and a review of the options to replace the rifle is in its early stages. This review will include potentially extending its use beyond 2025.

British Overseas Territories: Armed Forces

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans next to inspect the (a) Bermuda Regiment, (b) Gibraltar Regiment and (c) Royal Montserrat Defence Force.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funds the Government contributes to the maintenance of the (a) Bermuda Regiment, (b) Gibraltar Regiment and (c) Royal Montserrat Defence Force.

Penny Mordaunt: While all three of these units are affiliated to the British Army, none is formally part of the UK Armed Forces. As such the Ministry of Defence neither funds nor inspects either the Bermuda Regiment or the Royal Montserrat Defence Force. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is funded as part of British Forces Gibraltar, of which it is a key part, and costs around £9.5 million a year. It is inspected regularly with other units based in Gibraltar.

Air Force: Deployment

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel in his Department work on the Seedcorn initiative; and where such personnel are based.

Penny Mordaunt: The number and location of personnel taking part in the Seedcorn initiative are as follows:LocationNumber of Seedcorn PersonnelCanadaRoyal Canadian Air Force Greenwood4New ZealandRoyal New Zealand Air Force Base Whenuapai4AustraliaRoyal Australian Air Force base Edinburgh2United StatesNaval Air Station Patuxent River9United StatesNaval Air Station Jacksonville11

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Crowsnest system to be (a) available and (b) operational.

Mr Philip Dunne: The CROWSNEST project will deliver the next generation of airborne surveillance and has recently entered the third element of its assessment phase - the Main Gate investment decision is expected in quarter two of 2016, at which time the planned dates for entry into service and Initial Operational Capability will be formally declared.The Royal Navy's airborne surveillance is currently provided by the Sea King Mk7 platform, which will finish in service in quarter three 2018. It is planned that the CROWSNEST capability will be available to provide a seamless transition from Sea King Mk7.

USA: Defence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to strengthen the UK's relationship with the US in relation to defence operations and funding.

Michael Fallon: The UK-US defence relationship is as strong as it has ever been.On operations, our forces have fought side by side in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today we are together combating terrorism and violent extremism in the Middle East and Africa, maintaining freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, providing reassurance to NATO Allies in Eastern Europe, providing training and other support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, undertaking counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, countering the narcotic trade in South America and the Caribbean, fighting Ebola in West Africa and providing nuclear deterrence for NATO.Beyond joint operations, our collaboration spans the full spectrum of defence activity including intelligence sharing, nuclear cooperation, joint exercises and training, defence procurement, cyber, science and technology.The US continues to value what the UK has always been able to offer: our leadership and partnership in addressing shared challenges, and a contribution to global operations that no other ally can match.On funding, we have the largest defence budget in the EU and the second largest in NATO. We will spend 2% of our GDP on defence this year. We will invest over £160 billion over the next decade on our future force.Our defence relationship with the US benefits from a healthy regular dialogue and strong personal relationships at the most senior levels.Our Combined Chiefs met for the third time in recent history in the US in May to discuss our approach to shared challenges like ISIL and Russia and to ensuring that our forces are increasingly able to operate alongside each other.When I met with the US Secretary of Defense earlier in the year he said that "our military collaboration is the cornerstone of both of our nations' security". I look forward to seeing him again next week at the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers where we will continue to look for opportunities to strengthen our relationship for our mutual benefit.

Nuclear Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which month of 2016 his Department plans to bring before the House proposals for the Main Gate decision for the renewal of the UK's nuclear deterrent.

Mr Philip Dunne: The timing of any debate in the House on the Successor programme will be announced in due course.

Electronic Warfare: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's cyber defence budget will be in each year from 2016-17 to 2019-20.

Penny Mordaunt: Decisions on the cyber defence budget for 2016-17 and beyond will be reviewed as part of the forthcoming spending review.

Armed Forces Covenant

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the regional distribution of money raised by fines issued for Libor manipulation has been in each year since its introduction.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2015 to Question 428 to the hon. Member for St. Helens North (Mr McGinn).http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-05-28/428/



Armed Forces Covenant
(Word Document, 25 KB)

Armed Forces: Dogs

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's military dogs were euthanised in each month in 2014-15; and what the reasons were in each case.

Mark Lancaster: Decisions to euthanise any animal in military service are only taken by a veterinarian officer after all possible treatment avenues have been exhausted and where it is considered to be the most humane option for the animal. The only other scenario where an animal would be euthanised is where it is considered to pose a risk to public safety. The numbers of dogs euthanised by the Ministry of Defence in each month during financial year 2014-15 is provided below. The figures shown have been updated to reflect additional records received from worldwide locations which were not available when my predecessor answered the hon. Member’s Question (214615) on 24 November 2014. Military Working Dog Euthanasia Statistics by Month: April 2014 – March 2015 ReasonApril 2014MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuary 2015FebruaryMarchAbdominal Catastrophe   111  Aged - Welfare2 1  9 1Chronic Stifle Disease & Osteoarthritis   1Dangerous Temperament11 1  1 Chronic Medical Pathology   1  11Failing to Maintain Standards (Welfare)[1]  31 1 2Hind limb Paresis welfare grounds  1 Hip Dysplasia 1 1Joint Injury1   Multiple Chronic Disease Process1   Neoplasia  1 Neurological Disease2  2111 Osteosarcoma 1  Osteoarthritis121 3221Spinal Osteoarthritis and Neurological Deficits   1Total:6467714460121  Note 1. Where the animal is not suitable for re-homing based on behaviour and temperament, with potential consequences for its welfare

Armed Forces: Horses

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's military horses were euthanised in each month in 2014-15; and what the reasons were in each case.

Mark Lancaster: Decisions to euthanise any animal in military service are only taken by a veterinarian officer after all possible treatment avenues have been exhausted and where it is considered to be the most humane option for the animal. The only other scenario where an animal would be euthanised is where it is considered to pose a risk to public safety. The numbers of horses euthanised by the Department in each month during financial year 2014-15 are provided below.  Military Working Horses Euthanasia Statistics by Month: April 2014 – March 2015 ReasonApril 2014MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuary 2015FebruaryMarchChronic lameness1 1 Dangerous temperament   1Enteritis with gut necrosis  1 Immune medicated purpura/vasculitis/ myopathy/ haemolysis   1Impacted colic  1 Infected wound to fetlock and pastern joint  1 Intestinal entrapment with small torsion1   Metacarpal osteoarthritis1   Intestinal entrapment with small torsion1   Euthanised during colic surgery   1Sepsis of hock joint1   Suspected abdominal neoplasia  1 Total:100130201032

Middle East: Peace Keeping Operations

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assets have been assigned to Operation Kipion 2 in each of the last five years.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the asset assigned to Operation Kipion 2 is currently being gapped.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times an asset has been gapped in Operation Kipion 2 in each of the last five years.

Penny Mordaunt: Operation KIPION 2 has not been gapped since it began in 2011, and HMS RICHMOND is currently on task. The Royal Navy ships deployed on this operation have been: HMS MONMOUTH May - September 2011HMS ARGYLL September 2011 - February 2012HMS WESTMINSTER February - July 2012HMS SUTHERLAND July - November 2012HMS NORTHUMBERLAND November 2012 - April 2013HMS KENT April - September 2013HMS WESTMINSTER September 2013 - February 2014HMS SOMERSET February - June 2014HMS NORTHUMBERLAND June - November 2014HMS KENT November 2014 - April 2015HMS RICHMOND since April 2015

Type 23 Frigates

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Type 23 frigates are harbour training ships; and what the name is of each such ship.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Royal Navy currently has no dedicated harbour training ships; all ships conduct training as part of their generation and operation.

Defence: Foreign Investment in UK

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential risks posed to national security by investments in UK defence companies by foreign (a) state-owned enterprises and (b) sovereign wealth funds; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: As made clear in our white paper National Security Through Technology (Cm 8278) published in February 2012, we will take action in the commercial market place to protect the UK's operational advantages and freedom of action where this is essential for our national security.In a free market we welcome both domestic and foreign investment in our defence industry. Assessments of potential risk associated with ownership activity are carried out on a case by case basis.

Armed Forces: Housing

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the turnover rate is in service family accommodation.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people live in service family accommodation.

Mark Lancaster: The Department does not keep information on what the turnover rate is in service family accommodation; however in the financial year 2014-15; there were 16,157 move ins and 17,315 move outs in UK-based accommodation.The Ministry of Defence has 49,500 service family accommodation properties in the United Kingdom. The number of people who live in service family accommodation is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that housing standards are met in service family accommodation.

Mark Lancaster: Over 99% of assessed UK service family accommodation (SFA), 96% of all SFA, are at one of the top two (of four) standards for condition.From April 2016 only properties that meet the Government's Decent Homes Standard will be allocated.

HMS Ocean

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date US marines are planned to be deployed on HMS Ocean as part of NATO quick-reaction forces.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many US marines are planned to be deployed on HMS Ocean as part of NATO quick-reaction forces.

Penny Mordaunt: Royal Navy ships routinely operate with NATO partners including US forces; this may involve the embarkation of US Marines on Royal Navy ships. We expect approximately 40 US Marines will join Royal Marines embarking on HMS OCEAN as part of a proposed exercise later this year.The US Marines would not be part of NATO's quick-reaction forces.

Ministry of Defence: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 1818, what equipment and infrastructure spending will be re-profiled in order to meet the £500 million reduction in his Department's budget for 2015-16.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 1818, how much expenditure will be reduced on (a) consultants, (b) overtime and travel and (c) re-profiting of equipment and infrastructure spend in 2015-16.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 June to Question 1245.We are working through the further detail of the announcement.



Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings
(Word Document, 24.5 KB)

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Cumbria

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on how much was spent on (a) staffing and (b) members' remuneration by each local authority area in Cumbria in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Mr Marcus Jones: Statistics on employee expenditure in each local authority are published online in the Revenue Outturn Service Expenditure Summary, which is available at the following link: http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing Data is not currently available for 2014-15. This Department does not hold centrally the level of member’s remuneration by local authority.

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of devolving business rate retention powers to local authorities.

Mr Marcus Jones: The introduction of business rates retention gives all local authorities a strong incentive to pursue local growth policies, by allowing them to keep a share of the additional business rate income generated by that growth. 94% of authorities expect to see additional business rates income in 2015-16 worth an extra £544 million.

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will meet town and county local authority leaders to discuss his Department's policy on devolution of powers.

Mr Mark Francois: The Government is clear that it is open to discussing devolution proposals from all places, including towns and counties.

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from or on behalf of town and county authorities on his Department's policies on devolution.

Mr Mark Francois: My Department has received representations from or on behalf of numerous town and county authorities to discuss policy on devolution and to bring forward proposals for the devolution of powers. I welcome these representations and encourage proposals from all areas which would welcome increased powers and greater freedoms to maximise their economic growth, where the case can be made that there is both strong governance and the capacity and capability to deliver.

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to make town and county authorities aware of his Department's policies on devolution.

Mr Mark Francois: Government Ministers have set out the policy on devolution in public speeches and articles in the national press. Additionally, Ministers and officials are engaging with local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships across the country.

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that the benefits of devolution reach town and county authority level.

Mr Mark Francois: My Department is encouraging town and county authorities to ensure that they benefit from devolution by bringing forward proposals that set out clearly how they will use greater powers and freedoms to maximise economic growth for their area.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many affordable homes was (a) work started, (b) work completed and (c) provisions made for in each year for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on affordable housing starts funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Greater London Authority between 2009/10 and 2014/15 are published by the Department in Live Table 1012 which is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply .

Right to Buy Scheme

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2015 to Question 1051, if he will publish the (a) dates and (b) attendees of meetings held between (i) Ministers and (ii) officials from his Department and housing associations on the extension of the right-to-buy to encompass housing association properties.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2015 to Question 1049, if he will publish the (a) dates and (b) attendees of meetings held between (i) Ministers and (ii) officials from his Department and (A) banks and (B) other financial institutions on the extension of the right-to-buy scheme to encompass housing association properties.

Brandon Lewis: Officials have met with a number of housing associations on an individual basis and further meetings are planned. Details of Ministers’ meetings and those of the Permanent Secretary with external organisations are published on-line here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-datahttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dclg-permanent-secretary-data- 2014#history

Council Housing: Sales

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on local authorities business plans of the sale of high-value council homes.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities regarding the effect on their business plans of the sale of high-value homes.

Brandon Lewis: We are holding a series of meetings and discussions with local authorities to seek their views including the potential impact of the sale of high value council homes on their Housing Revenue Account business plans.

Private Rented Housing: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the level of change in median monthly rents in the private sector in Ashfield constituency for (a) one, (b) two and (c) three-bedroom flats in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on the private rental market in England and in each local authority district, including Ashfield, are published by the Valuation Office Agency and are available at the following link. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/private-rental-market-statistics-may-2015 Statistics are not available at the level of parliamentary constituency. The Valuation Office Agency advises that because the composition of this sample changes over time, it is not possible to compare median rents provided in this publication with statistics in previous publications to infer trends in the rental market over time. The statistics therefore provide a snapshot that shows the range of rents across England. The official source on change over time in cost of renting is the Office for National Statistics Index of Private Housing Rental Prices available at the following link. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hpi/index-of-private-housing-rental-prices/january-to-march-2015-results/index.html

Housing: Owner Occupation

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of households in England were owner-occupied in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: This information is published in the English Housing Survey 2013 to 2014: headline report. Please refer to Annex Table 1.1. in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2013-to-2014-headline-report

Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill (HL)

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what impact assessment the Government has carried out on the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.

Mr Mark Francois: The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is an enabling measure providing for the transfer of existing powers from one public body to another through secondary legislation. Accordingly, an impact assessment is not necessary or appropriate at this point.

Right to Buy Scheme

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average sale price per property of houses to be sold under the proposed extension of the right to buy scheme for housing association tenants.

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the projected number of housing association tenants that will meet the eligibility criteria for discounts offered under the planned extension of the right-to-buy scheme to housing association tenants in each of the first five years after the introduction of that policy in (a) England, (b) Greater London and (c) Greenwich and Woolwich constituency.

Brandon Lewis: The development of the policy is ongoing, and details will be set out in the impact assessment when the Housing Bill is published.

Members: Correspondence

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to reply to the letter to him dated 13 May 2015 from the hon. Members for Aberdeen North, Aberdeen South and West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine regarding an Aberdeen City Region Deal.

James Wharton: A reply was sent on 22 June.

Empty Property: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of empty homes in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on vacant dwellings in England and in each local authority district, including Coventry, are published in the Department’s live table 615 which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants  This table shows the annual total numbers of empty homes and those vacant longer than six months and also vacants in the local authority, housing association and other public sector tenures.  Data are not collected by parliamentary constituency.

HM Treasury

Gold: Smuggling

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on allegations of illicit gold trafficking from South America by companies linked to the London bullion market; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: As Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, I have received no recent representations on allegations of illicit gold trafficking from South America by companies linked to the London bullion market. Should such representations be received then they would be treated seriously and investigated.

Social Security Benefits: Islington

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average earnings of working claimants of (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit in (i) the London Borough of Islington and (ii) Islington South and Finsbury constituency.

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people who are in receipt of child tax credit in (a) the London Borough of Islington and (b) Islington South and Finsbury constituency have more than two children.

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people claiming child benefit in (a) the London Borough of Islington and (b) Islington South and Finsbury constituency are in work.

Damian Hinds: The average earnings of in-work child benefit claimants is only available at disproportionate cost.   The most recent data on tax credits broken down by geographical location is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2013-to-2014 (main stats) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014 (geographic breakdown)

Consumers

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will respond formally to the Keep Me Posted campaign.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government takes the firm view that consumers must be able to access clear and transparent information about their accounts with banks and other financial service companies, utility companies, media companies and other service companies.   With regards to banking, for example, the Government is continuing to drive forward a wide-reaching and ambitious programme of reforms to open up competition in the banking sector, including enabling innovation in the use of bank data so that customers are able to use online information more effectively. This includes initiatives like the Midata current account tool, which will help customers switch to the best current account for them.   The Financial Conduct Authority is also currently reviewing cost-cutting initiatives that affect a significant number of customers, including the withdrawal of paper statements.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people will be entitled to tax-free childcare who are not eligible to receive child benefit.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not available. The introduction of Tax-Free Childcare will give up to 1.8 million hard-working families the opportunity to receive up to £2,000 per annum of support per child.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on how parents will be asked to prove their identity when opening tax-free childcare accounts online; and what assessment he has made of the data protection implications of requiring parents to so prove their identities.

Damian Hinds: This is set out in the government’s response to the consultation on design and operation of Tax-Free Childcare (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318953/PU1607_Tax_free_Childcare_response)   Alternative channels will be available for families who are unable to access the internet, or are not able to verify their identity entirely digitally, so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

Central Government: Private Finance Initiative

Margaret Hodge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many PFI contracts are being negotiated across central government.

Greg Hands: Following the review of PFI in 2012 and the launch of PF2, there are no new PFI projects being negotiated across central government.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect on the value of (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit of a two-year freeze on working-age benefits.

Damian Hinds: Further detail on welfare reforms will be set out at the Summer Budget on 8 July.

Environment Protection: Taxation

David T. C. Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of revenue to be raised from the carbon price floor in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

David T. C. Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the total additional revenues raised by carbon price floor rates were retained by HM Treasury; and what proportion accrues to low carbon generators for (a) renewables  and (b) nuclear operators.

David T. C. Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to discuss the carbon price floor.

Damian Hinds: The Carbon Price Floor is made up of the EU Emissions Trading System carbon price and the UK Carbon Price Support rates. Table C.3 of the 2015 Budget sets out forecasts for Exchequer revenue from the Climate Change Levy, including Carbon Price Support, and from EU Emissions Trading System auction receipts for each year, up to financial year 2019/20. They are shown in the table below.14/1515/1616/1717/1818/1919/20Climate Change Levy (£bn)1.72.02.01.81.71.6EU ETS auction receipts (£bn)0.30.30.30.40.40.6   All revenues from the Carbon Price Floor accrue to the Exchequer. The Chancellor regularly meets the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate to discuss energy policy.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Barry Gardiner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research he has conducted to inform the setting of the level of fuel duty.

Damian Hinds: The Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs published research analysing the dynamic effects of fuel duty reductions in a joint report in April 2014. This research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-the-dynamic-effects-of-fuel-duty-reductions

London Airports: Corporation Tax

Gareth Thomas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much corporation tax Heathrow and Gatwick Airports paid in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: Ministers are not privy to the details of the tax affairs of individual companies.   HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are legally obliged to protect taxpayer confidentiality.

River Thames: Bridges

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the proposed London Garden Bridge; and what information his Department holds on the total cost of that project.

Greg Hands: The Government announced at Autumn Statement 2013 that it would make a £30 million contribution to the costs of the Garden Bridge, which was matched by a further £30 million contribution by Transport for London. The Garden Bridge Trust, which is promoting and delivering the project, says that the delivery costs are expected to be within £175 million in addition to ongoing costs of £3.5 million annually.

Fair and Effective Markets Review

Alison McGovern: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met with representatives of the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Bank of England to discuss recommendations made by the Fair and Effective Markets Review.

Harriett Baldwin: The Fair and Effective Markets Review was a joint review between the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury. It was chaired by Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, Deputy Governor at the Bank of England, with Martin Wheatley (CEO of the FCA) and Charles Roxburgh (Director General Financial Services at HM Treasury) as co-chairs.   The Review’s secretariat was based at the Bank of England and was drawn from all three authorities, including from HM Treasury. This has been a collaborative piece of work across the institutions and officials maintained a continuous two-way communication between the Review and HM Treasury throughout the life of the Review.   The Review has concluded its findings and made recommendations to the Chancellor on 10 June. The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England have welcomed the Review’s final recommendations in their Mansion House speeches. To ensure that momentum is maintained on the recommendations, the three Principals have committed to providing a full implementation update to the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England, by June 2016.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on turning the Royal Bank of Scotland into a network of stakeholder banks held in trusts for the public benefit.

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission a cost benefit analysis of alternatives to selling the government stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has been consistent and clear that its objective in respect of RBS ownership is to return the bank to the private sector in full.   This policy is supported by recent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England that “it is in the public interest for the Government to begin now to return RBS to the private sector”, and that “there could be considerable net costs to taxpayers of further delaying the start of a sale”. The findings of the recently published Rothschild report into the Government’s shareholding in RBS concur with this assessment.

Welfare Tax Credits

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of (a) working families tax credits and (b) child tax credits paid to those earning below the living wage.

Damian Hinds: The information is not available.

UK Trade with EU

Michael Fabricant: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the balance of trade between the UK and the rest of the EU was (a) overall, (b) in visible goods and (c) in invisible goods in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The Office for National Statistics report the total trade balance with the EU to have been -£28.5bn in 2010, -£21.7bn in 2011, -£39.5bn in 2012, -£57.3bn in 2013 and -£61.6bn in 2014. The trade in goods balance with the EU was -£-43.4bn in 2010, -£40.4bn in 2011, -£56.5bn in 2012, -£69.1bn in 2013 and -£78.6bn in 2014. The trade in services balance with the EU was £15.0bn in 2010, £18.7bn in 2011, £17.0bn in 2012, £11.8bn in 2013 and £15.4bn in 2014.

Fair and Effective Markets Review

Alison McGovern: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what responses the Government has made to the recommendations of the Fair and Effective Markets Review 2015.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has an ongoing commitment to deal with abuses and ensure that these markets are fair for all who depend on them. The Chancellor has welcomed the Review’s recommendations and the Review chairs have committed to provide further detail about the implementation of these recommendations by June 2016.   The Government will go through the normal processes to consider the implementation of the recommendations that fall to the UK Government.

Financial Services

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial System Resilience Index published by the New Economics Foundation in June 2015, what plans he has to improve the resilience of the UK financial system.

Harriett Baldwin: This government has delivered a substantial programme of reforms to the UK’s financial regulation. We have placed the Bank of England at the centre of the new architecture and established focused regulators with clear objectives.   The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) undertake the supervision of individual firms, while the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England identifies, monitors and addresses risks to the system as a whole. The FPC regularly publishes a set of indicators that it considers when formulating policy. These indicators can be found on the Bank of England’s website using the link below.   http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/Pages/fpc/coreindicators.aspx   The government has recently legislated to grant the FPC new powers of direction with regard to a leverage ratio framework and the residential mortgage market. These powers will allow the FPC to take action to prevent unsustainable levels of leverage in the financial system and to address any risks to financial stability from the housing market.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the fees payable to (a) law firms, (b) banks and (c) other advisers in relation to the sale of the Government's stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has not undertaken an estimate of the fees payable in relation to the sale of its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland. Further information relating to the execution of the sale will be released in due course. Details of fees paid to third parties are publicly available at www.gov.uk. All HM Treasury spending greater than £25,000 is published there too.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will claim (a) child tax credits and (b) the child element of universal credit in (i) 2016-17, (ii) 2017-18, (iii) 2018-19 and (iv) 2019-20.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not available.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on public finances of selling the government stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor has received independent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and from Rothschild that it is in the interests of taxpayers to begin now to sell our stake in RBS. This is the right thing to do for the economy and for British taxpayers, and to ensure the best price possible.The Governor of the Bank of England notes that a privately owned banking sector is best able to allocate capital efficiently and competitively to grow jobs, investment and income and that there could be considerable net costs to taxpayers of further delaying the start of a sale.

Pensions

Ms Mhairi Black: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance the Government has issued to pensioners on financial products available to people accessing their defined contribution pension.

Harriett Baldwin: The government has launched Pension Wise, a service providing free, impartial guidance, to help people make informed and confident decisions about how they use their defined contribution pension savings in retirement. It is available online, via the telephone and face to face.   The guidance explains the options available for a consumer’s pension and helps them to explore those which could best suit their personal circumstances.

Pensions

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible to take advantage of the pension flexibilities introduced on 6 April 2015 in each (a) region, (b) local authority area and (c) parliamentary constituency.

Harriett Baldwin: HMRC estimates that around 320,000 people retire each year with defined contribution pension savings; these individuals are now able to withdraw their pension wealth more flexibly if they wish to do so.

Pensions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a cap on pension company charges for people seeking to switch, cash-in or otherwise vary their pension policy.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government will launch a consultation next month on options to address any excessive early exit penalties. This will include, if there is evidence of such penalties, the option of imposing a legislative cap on these charges for those aged 55 or over.

Agriculture: Tax Allowances

Dr   Poulter: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal incentives his Department plans to put in place to stimulate growth in the science and technology industry to support British agriculture.

Greg Hands: Government recognises the importance of science investment in boosting agricultural productivity and growth, which in turn affects competitiveness and real food prices. For firms undertaking research and development (R&D), the Government already has R&D tax credits in place to incentivise this investment. In 2012/13 R&D tax credits provided support to over 15,000 companies, supporting around £13.2bn of innovative investment.   Alongside this, the Government’s Agri-Tech Strategy (published July 2013) aims to make the UK a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability. This includes allocation of over £320m to further build the pipeline of innovation from the laboratory to the farm; including £70m to support commercialisation projects through the Agri-Tech Catalyst, which the Government continues to invite bids for.   The Government also announced a further £400m Research Partnership Investment Fund competition at Budget 2015.

Agriculture: Taxation

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his announcement in the Budget 2015 on allowing farmers to average their income for tax purposes over five years, whether that proposal will apply to (a) all farm types and (b) vineyards.

Mr David Gauke: The proposal to extend averaging will not alter the type of farming that can benefit. It will apply to farming generally, including vineyards, and market gardens. Guidance on averaging for farmers is given in page BIM84055 of the Business Income Manual published by HM Revenue & Customs (http://home.active.hmrci/bimmanual/BIM84055.htm).

Energy: VAT

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the ruling of the European Court of Justice on 4 June 2015 on the UK's VAT rate on the supply and installation of energy-saving materials, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that ruling; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is currently considering the full implications of the decision of the European Court of Justice on the application of the VAT reduced rate to the installation of energy saving materials

Married People: Tax Allowances

Mr David Nuttall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the time it takes to register for the marriage allowance using the online application procedure.

Mr David Gauke: The Married Couples Allowance (MCA) is available to couples where one spouse is born before 6 April 1935. MCA can be claimed through a self-assessment return or by contacting HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).   Marriage Allowance was introduced from April 2015 and is available to married couples and civil partnerships who are not eligible for MCA and where neither spouse pays tax at the higher or additional rate.   HMRC is currently inviting customers who registered an interest in MCA to apply. This is being done in a gradual way to ensure the digital service works well. HMRC is monitoring how the service works and acting on feedback to make improvements before opening the application service up more widely.

Welfare State: Reform

Angela Crawley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect on household incomes of the welfare changes introduced since May 2010 as a proportion of household income for each income decile.

Mr David Gauke: It is important to consider tax and public spending decisions alongside welfare decisions, to understand the cumulative impact on households of government policy.   Details of the impact on households as a result of changes to tax, welfare and public service spending can be found in the Treasury’s distributional analysis publication that accompanied Budget 2015.   Unlike other analyses, it looks not only at the effect of direct tax and welfare decisions, but also the impact of changes to indirect tax (such as the freeze to fuel duty) and changes to spending on public services.   This analysis can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2015-documents

Non-domestic Rates: Local Press

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the level of business rates for local newspapers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: Local newspapers are an important source of information for local communities and a vital part of a healthy democracy. We are committed to consulting on the introduction of a business rates relief to support local newspapers in England as they adapt to new technology and changing circumstances.

Church Commissioners

Churches: Solar Power

Bill Wiggin: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what proposals the Church Commissioners have received to allow community energy generation using church roofs for solar panels.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The General Synod of the Church of England is committed to the whole Church reducing its carbon footprint. One strategy which is proving popular in local communities is for the Church to use solar installations on its roof to generate energy for the benefit of the surrounding community.Examples where community generation is working well can be found in St John's Church, Old Trafford and St George's Church, Kemp Town, Brighton where both churches are part of an energy cooperative. The Church of England is committed to environmental action and finding creative solutions to reduce the energy demands of its own buildings, more detailed advice can be found at www.churchcare.co.uk

Churches: Solar Power

Bill Wiggin: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what support she is providing to churches for the installation of PV panels.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The Church of England’s Church Buildings Division offers advice and support to churches across the country who are seeking to generate energy from their roof. While this may not be appropriate for all sites there are a growing number of listed church buildings, currently over 200, who have successfully managed to install solar panels. One of the best examples of the use of solar panels is the 10th century All Saints Church in Wing, Buckinghamshire which has installed solar panels on the nave and south aisle roofs. More detailed advice can be found at www.churchcare.co.uk

Women and Equalities

Employment: Females

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the publication by Professor Ad Vingerhoets, Why only humans weep: unravelling the mysteries of tears, if she will make an assessment of the effect on (a) the performance in the workplace and (b) the perception of the performance of women in the workplace of the finding of that publication on gender disparities in the propensity to cry.

Caroline Dinenage: We have made no assessment on gender disparities in the propensity to cry in the workplace and have no plans to do so.

Department for Transport

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the Streets Ahead campaign on pavement parking.

Andrew Jones: Last year this Department received around a thousand communications from Guide Dogs campaigners in support of two Private Members’ Bills on pavement parking. Departmental officials have had contact with Guide Dogs and Living Streets over the last year, to discuss pavement parking. I also attended the Guide Dogs parliamentary reception in June.

Railways: Tickets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the south east flexible ticketing trial to conclude; how much has been spent on that trial in each year to date; and whether that programme's geographic scope has been determined.

Andrew Jones: A competition was held in December 2014 for a trial to gather evidence on flexible rail ticketing. Positive expressions of interest were received from seven operators in the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme area; we are working with them so they can introduce flexible ticketing products as soon as possible following the roll out of smart ticketing in 2016 and 2017. A passenger preference survey on flexible ticketing has been completed and preparations are being made to model the impacts of flexible ticketing on operator revenues. Additionally, flexible ticketing products will be launched later this year by Govia Thameslink Railway under franchise obligations. The impact of those and similar products will be evaluated to add to the evidence base. To date, less than £50,000 has been spent by the Department on the flexible ticketing trial.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what statutory enactment is the validity of vehicle excise duty ended when a vehicle changes ownership.

Andrew Jones: The change to end vehicle excise duty at the point of sale was introduced in the Finance Act 2014. That made it no longer possible to transfer a vehicle licence when there is a change of keeper.

Railways: Fares

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to simplify fares structures set by the Northern franchisee; and what funding his Department has allocated to developing and rolling out the Smart in the North programme.

Andrew Jones: We are keen to see a Northern transport network that makes it simple and easy to travel around and between city regions. Through the Northern franchise competition we have merged the previously separate fares areas and are asking bidders to propose plans to simplify fares structures. We are also developing, in conjunction with Transport for the North, a business case for funding a smart ticketing scheme on the northern rail network that could integrate with city region smart ticketing products.

Cars: Excise Duties

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the DVLA is taking to publicise amongst drivers the recent changes to car tax.

Andrew Jones: Since 5 September 2014, all vehicle tax reminders issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have explained the changes. The message is issued every month, directly to individual customers at the time at which it is most relevant. The DVLA also writes to all new keepers to remind them of the need to license their vehicles.

Regional Airports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his plans are for the Regional Air Connectivity Fund.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Regional Air Connectivity Fund enables funding to be provided to support public service obligations (PSOs) on existing routes to London from UK regional airport that are in danger of being lost, and to provide start-up aid for new air routes.   The Government has so far provided financial support for PSOs on two routes: Dundee – London City and Newquay Cornwall – London Gatwick.   With regards to start-up aid, the Government undertook an initial application stage earlier this year and will announce after the July Budget how we will take this forward.

Bus Services: Disability

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has reduced the funding available to develop the winning design of the Transport Systems Catapult All Aboard competition into a working prototype from £100,000 to £50,000; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: The All Aboard Competition was funded by the Transport Systems Catapult, who agreed to invest up to £150,000 in total. This funding covered the development and delivery of the competition and all project management, marketing and administrative costs associated with running the competition, as well as up to £50,000 to develop the winning design into a working prototype.

Train Operating Companies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will require train operating companies to submit to his Department reports on their revenue and profit margins.

Claire Perry: As part of our ongoing management of passenger rail franchises, train operators report on their financial performance – including revenue, cost and profit – on a regular basis.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2015 to Question 2340, on which journeys on which lines passengers can expect a 15 minute journey time improvement as a result of the introduction of (a) bi-mode IEP and (b) electric IEP trains.

Claire Perry: Train Operating Companies are responsible for the timetabling of passenger services. Passengers can expect circa 15 minute journey time improvements on the Great Western (GWML) and East Coast (ECML) routes into Paddington and King’s Cross, along with increased frequencies of trains which I expect to be achieved from both fleets.   In addition, the 9-car trainsets on the ECML have 18% more seats than the InterCity 225 trains that they are replacing. The programme will increase the number of seats in the morning peak in to Kings Cross (ECML) by 28%, and by 40% in to Paddington (GWML).

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings in the report entitled, HS2 Direct Connections Study, published by East Midlands Council on 18 December 2013; and if he will take steps to support the Midlands Connect initiative.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The report “HS2 Direct Connections Study” is being considered as part of the East Midlands Councils’ response to the Phase Two consultation that ran from July 2013 to January 2014. No decisions on the Phase Two route and station locations have been made. The Government intends to announce the way forward on Phase Two later this year. We welcome partnerships such as Midlands Connect that are looking to maximise the economic potential of the Midlands and to make the most of HS2.

Great Western Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to withdraw Pacer trains from the Great Western and Wales and Borders franchises.

Claire Perry: Following our agreement in principle last November to devolve executive rail franchising functions to the Welsh Government, decisions on the procurement and management of the next Wales and Border franchise from October 2018, including rolling stock, will be for the Welsh Government.   The electrification programme on Great Western will see the introduction of electric trains that will facilitate the displacement of pacer trains by higher quality diesel rolling stock.

Railways: Pensions

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2015 to Question 1549, whether proposals for the Atos and Atos Worldline sections of the Railway Pension Scheme have been approved by the Trustee.

Claire Perry: Whilst the Department is aware that proposals for dealing with the results of the 2013 valuation of a number of sections within the Railways Pension Scheme have been approved by the Trustee, we do not have details of the specific sections involved.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Rohingya: Refugees

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international partners and his counterparts in South East Asia on (a) resolving the situation of Rohingya migrants and (b) ensuring that search and rescue operations take place in the Andaman Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire: Following the discovery on 1 May of a mass grave in Thailand containing the bodies of Rohingya, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis at sea in South East Asia, the UK lobbied governments in the region to address the urgent humantarian needs of those stranded at sea. In particular, we urged countries in the region to uphold their obligation of rescue at sea for vessels in distress, and to take a coordinated approach to people trafficking.On 18 May, I called the Burmese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to press for an immediate humanitarian response and to urge Burma to take part in regional coordination efforts. On 20 May, I met the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary to stress the need for Bangladesh to work within the region to address people trafficking and irregular migration originating from Bangladesh. Our officials have also discussed the issue with EU partners. Permanent Representatives in New York discussed the crisis in the UN Security Council on 28 May. While the immediate crisis is now receding, we are also pushing for a long term solution to the underlying problems, including the status of the Rohingya and an improvement to the dire socio-economic conditions faced by the Rohingya in Rakhine which is a key driver of their migration.

Rohingya: Refugees

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number Rohingya migrants from Burma adrift in the Andaman Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire: The exact figure is unknown. From 8,000 migrants originally estimated to be at sea in late May, the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicate that around 1,200 to 1,300 remain unaccounted for. It is likely that some of these will have returned, while others may have disembarked without UNHCR or other authorities’ knowledge. We continue to monitor the situation closely and urge countries in the region not to turn away boats in distress.

Religious Freedom

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the right to freedom of religion or belief is upheld across the world; and if he will appoint an envoy for that purpose.

Mr David Lidington: Holding answer received on 18 June 2015



All FCO Ministers raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief in bilateral and multilateral fora, whenever relevant, as a core part of our existing human rights work. We consider this the most effective approach.The Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns met the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief on 17 June to set out the UK’s commitment to uphold globally freedom of religion or belief. On 18 June she met the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein, to discuss upcoming joint action. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials attended the inaugural meeting of an International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief to discuss how we can better work together internationally. Last week, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar addressed staff in the FCO on the subject of “Faith, Freedom and Foreign Policy” as part of the FCO’s ongoing religious literacy initiative.

UK Membership of EU

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on a purdah period before the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The EU Referendum Bill introduced to Parliament on 28 May 2015 dis-applies section 125 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 for the purposes of the referendum. The statutory restrictions contained in section 125 would have prevented many types of Government business in the final 28 days of the campaign dealing with any issue raised by the referendum question, presenting serious operational difficulties. In order to fulfil the manifesto commitment on which it was elected, the Government will also need to be able to set out the results of its renegotiation and its view on those results. The Government therefore does not believe that it would have been appropriate for the section 125 restrictions to apply in full.The designated organisations for the yes and no campaigns should take the lead in a vibrant and robust debate. The Government will work with interested parties before bringing forward an amendment that will ensure there is a mechanism for making clear that, in the four weeks before polling day, the Government will not undertake a range of activity which many regard as the province of the designated organisations.

Qatar: Football

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the human rights situation and working conditions of foreign workers building 2022 World Cup stadia in Qatar; and what discussions he has had with his Qatari counterparts on that matter.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We take seriously the issue of health and safety of construction workers internationally, including in Qatar. We expect FIFA to do the same with regard to World Cup-related projects. I have had a number of discussions on human rights and the working conditions of foreign workers with my direct Qatari counterparts and I discussed the issues with the Qatari government during our bilateral working group in Doha on 26 February. I welcome Qatar’s response to international concerns and the proposed measures to improve the conditions for migrant workers, including changes to the sponsorship system. The UK stands ready to support these efforts where we can.

Iraq: Christianity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Iraq on protection of the Christian minority in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by the self-styled ISIL against all communities throughout the areas under its control. The human rights situation for many living in areas under ISIL control is gravely concerning.I visited Iraq on 12 February and encouraged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to continue progress on ensuring that all minorities are represented and their rights protected. We welcome the commitments that Prime Minister al-Abadi has made to inclusivity, to protecting Iraqi citizens, addressing human rights abuses and holding those responsible to account.We are working closely with the Iraqi government and our international coalition partners to assist and protect civilians wherever we can. We will continue to explore what further support we might be able to provide to vulnerable groups and internally displaced persons.

Omar al-Bashir

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the African Union President Bashir's defiance of a South African court order in connection with genocide charges.

James Duddridge: I regret that President Bashir was not arrested while in South Africa. I have publicly expressed my disappointment that the African Union invited Bashir to its Summit, and called on South Africa, as a State Party to the International Criminal Court to meet its obligation to arrest him. British Government officials are continuing to make our concerns known to the South African Government.

Spratly Islands

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise at the UN, the land reclamation by the Chinese government in the South China Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK remains concerned about any unilateral actions in the South China Sea, such as large scale land reclamation, that change the facts on the ground, raise tensions and increase the likelihood of miscalculation. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the issue directly with the Chinese Foreign Minister on 10 June, and the UK has supported recent G7 Leaders’ and Foreign Ministers’ statements which express concern at the situation. We will continue to make our concerns known, bilaterally with the Chinese, alongside allies, and in international fora. The UK would engage in any multilateral discussion of the South China Sea along similar lines.

Iraq: Iran

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the UK has made to the Iraqi government on protecting the residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq from ISIL and Shia milita groups.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to engage with the Government of Iraq (GOI) on the welfare of the residents of Camp Liberty. Our Embassy in Baghdad regularly raises this issue with the GOI and we support the United Nations’ calls for more to be done to protect residents but remain of the view that the Government of Iraq is responsible for security at the camp.Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad visited the camp on 28 April to assess living conditions, which the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq judge to be well in excess of basic humanitarian standards.

Occupied Territories

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed (a) Gaza and (b) Israeli settlements with his colleagues in the EU; and what the outcome of those discussions was on each such topic.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Affairs Council met on 18 May. The Middle East Peace Process was one of the subjects on the agenda and both Gaza and settlements were discussed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) argued that improving the situation in Gaza, as well as action to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, needed to be the immediate focus of the EU’s attention.

Gaza

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken (a) unilaterally and (b) with EU colleagues to help to lift the blockade of Gaza and allow unrestricted access for humanitarian aid and reconstruction.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government, both bilaterally and with the EU, continues to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards a durable solution for Gaza, and to take the necessary steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. I raised the issue with the Israeli National Security Adviser on 3 June. There is an urgent need for agreement to address the terrible situation in Gaza and the drivers of conflict. We welcome the recent positive steps that Israel has taken to ease some restrictions. However, we want to see Israel go much further.

Gulf States: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia of recent steps to improve relations with Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship, understanding and co-operation. Relations are based on a number of pillars including defence, security, trade and investment, regional issues, as well as essential co-operation on counter-terrorism. Our relationship remains strong. We have been clear with Saudi Arabia, and other regional partners, that engaging with Iran to ensure its nuclear programme remains exclusively for civil purposes, does not mean we will turn a blind eye to Iran’s destabilising actions in the region.

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterparts on the ratification by that country of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK is a strong supporter of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). During the past 12 months, officials have discussed US ratification of the CTBT with US counterparts in a range of bilateral meetings and during the London Conference of P5 Nuclear Weapon States in February 2015. In addition, the UK has called for ratification of the Treaty by all remaining Annex II countries (which includes the US) at the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Review Conference, the London P5 Conference, the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group, the 69th UN General Assembly First Committee and at the Seventh CTBT Ministerial Meeting.

Department for International Development

Burundi: Refugees

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to address the situation of refugees from Burundi; and if she will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: DFID has provided £9.25 million to support the relief efforts for Burundian refugees fleeing to Tanzania, through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Oxfam. Additionally, DFID has approved £3.9 million to support Burundian refugees in Rwanda. These packages will be used to fund the transport of refugees to camps, shelter, medical care, water and sanitation infrastructure, food rations, and to support the deployment of expert personnel. In 2014 DFID supported UNICEF and the WFP through a separate programme in Burundi to prepare to assist up to 10,000 people in the event of a humanitarian crisis. This support will continue in 2015 and extend to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and UNHCR. DFID is also the main donor to the international NGO consortium START network, providing £13.7 million to the network for its global operations since April 2014. START has so far released £442,327 in Burundi, £275,281 in Rwanda, £430,203 in Tanzania, and £330,000 in the DRC, in support of the humanitarian response. DFID is working closely with the FCO to monitor the situation in Burundi and in the surrounding countries.

Nepal: Education

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to establish temporary learning centres and to develop earthquake-resilient school structures in Nepal.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Over the past few years, the UK has played a leading role in improving the construction standards of schools in Nepal so that they are more resilient to earthquakes. We have retro-fitted or reconstructed around 200 school buildings and renovated a further 35. This was part of larger programmes and plans, with FCO, MOD and other donors, to help the Government of Nepal and local communities to prepare for an earthquake. The UK is providing more than £33million to the earthquake response in Nepal, making us the largest donor to the relief operation.  There will be an international conference in Kathmandu on 25 June at which the Government of Nepal will present its plans for post-earthquake reconstruction. This conference will help the UK and other donors to plan and coordinate assistance programmes over the medium to longer term. Ensuring that local communities are less vulnerable to earthquakes is a huge, long-term challenge but the recent earthquake has demonstrated that it will be an important part of our future work.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure long-term support is provided to Nepal to help repair infrastructure and rebuild homes, schools and hospitals.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has a longstanding friendship with Nepal, prior to the earthquake, the UK was already the largest bilateral donor in Nepal and we are committed to maintaining our support. As the emergency response shifts towards longer term recovery, we will develop new initiatives and adapt some of our existing programmes to provide appropriate support to earthquake-affected areas.  There will be an international conference in Kathmandu on 25 June at which the Government of Nepal will present its plans for post-earthquake reconstruction. This conference will help the UK and other donors to plan and coordinate assistance programmes over the medium to longer term. Ensuring that local communities are less vulnerable to earthquakes in the future is a huge challenge but it will remain an important part of our future work.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the international community to (a) increase contributions to Nepal urgently and (b) ensure full funding of the Flash appeal.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Prior to the earthquake the UK was already the largest bilateral donor to Nepal. The UK is providing more than £33 million to the earthquake response in Nepal. DFID officials will attend the upcoming international conference in Kathmandu on 25 June and use that forum to encourage other donors to increase their engagement and provide much needed funds for both the urgent post-earthquake needs and for the longer term reconstruction efforts. The UK has made available approximately £5 million to the UN Flash Appeal and is supporting the UN in its efforts to secure further funding.

Nepal: Humanitarian Aid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the government of Nepal to extend the waiver on custom duties on life-saving humanitarian items.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are very concerned about the resumption of import duties on humanitarian relief items in Nepal, which risks impeding the delivery of urgent assistance to highly vulnerable communities. UK officials have been actively lobbying the Government of Nepal for the reintroduction of a customs waiver and are supporting the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in his lobbying efforts. European Ambassadors, including the UK, met with senior Nepali Ministers last week to request changes to customs regulations while the need for humanitarian supplies remains.

Department for Education

Academies

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of parental consultation before schools convert to academies.

Nick Gibb: The Academies Programme is key to driving up academic standards in our education system. Governing bodies are required to conduct a statutory consultation, as part of the conversion process, the outcome of which is taken into account in deciding whether to enter into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State.

Broadfield House

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has for the future of Broadfield House in Crawley.

Edward Timpson: The Education Funding Agency is in discussions with an outstanding education provider about the future use of the site.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the teaching of personal, social, health and economic education in schools.

Edward Timpson: The Government wants all young people to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. High quality personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) teaching has a vital role to play in providing young people with a ‘curriculum for life’, equipping them with the skills and understanding they need to manage their lives and stay safe. Departmental advice on the teaching of PSHE is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-social-health-and-economic-education-pshe To improve the quality of PSHE, we are developing a new, rigorous accreditation for schools which will enable them to demonstrate excellence in the quality of their PSHE teaching. The new quality mark will give parents more information about a school’s PSHE provision. We are also working with the PSHE Association to help quality assure teaching resources.

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools whose governing body had made an application for an Academy Order on or before 31 May 2012 had not been included in an Academy Agreement with her Department by 1 June 2015.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools which had an approved Academy Order on or before 31 May 2012 had not been included in an Academy Agreement with her Department by 1 June 2015.

Edward Timpson: We publish a list of open academies and academy projects in development at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development The list includes all schools that have applied to convert and those that have received an academy order. It is updated monthly.   Since the Regional Schools Commissioners took up their positions in September 2014, the individual decisions to approve or decline an academy order have been published on their website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/schools-commissioners-group Schools may withdraw from the academy process at any stage prior to signing their funding agreement.

Regional Schools Commissioners

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the staffing complement is of the office of each regional schools commissioner; and what the staff grade is of each post in each such office.

Nick Gibb: The staffing complement in each regional schools commissioner’s office is listed in the table below: Office and regional schools commissionerTotal staffGrade 6Grade 7SEOHEOEOAOEast Midlands and the Humber – Jennifer Bexon-Smith6121 2 Lancashire and West Yorkshire – Paul Smith712 121North of England – Janet Renou612 21 East of England and North East London – Dr Tim Coulson711113 South Central England and North West London – Martin Post612 12 South East England and South London – Dominic Herrington712  4 West Midlands – Pank Patel612111 South West England – Sir David Carter712112

Regional Schools Commissioners

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the regional schools commissioners (a) are employed under a contract of employment as part of the establishment of her Department, (b) are employed under a contract of employment to an Academy Trust, (c) are employed under a contract of employment to another third party and (d) use a personal service company.

Nick Gibb: All regional schools commissioners are employed under a contract of employment with the Department for Education.   None of the regional schools commissioners are employed under a contract of employment to an Academy Trust. None of the regional schools commissioners uses a personal service company.   Pank Patel has a third party contract to deliver leadership training services abroad for the British Council. The contract expires in August this year. No other regional schools commissioner has a contract of employment to a third party.

Regional Schools Commissioners

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which functions she has delegated to each regional schools commissioner.

Edward Timpson: The Regional Schools Commissioners carry out the following functions on behalf of the Secretary of State: Monitoring the performance of academies and free schools in their area;Taking action when an academy or free school is underperforming;Taking decisions on local authority maintained schools wishing to convert to academy status;Approving changes to open academies, including age range changes, mergers between academies, and changes to multi-academy trust arrangements;Managing the regional sponsor market for academies, including approving applications to become an academy sponsor;Making recommendations to ministers about free school applications; And from July 2015: Decision-making on tackling underperformance in maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements. The Secretary of State continues to be accountable for these areas and for all decision-making on her behalf.

Schools: Standards

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her policy to include pupil referral units in the definition of coasting schools under the Education and Inspections Bill.

Nick Gibb: The Education and Adoption Bill amends the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006) by including coasting schools as a new category of maintained school. The definition of maintained schools in the EIA 2006 does not include pupil referral units and they will therefore not be eligible to be defined as coasting schools.

Further Education: Cost Effectiveness

Mr Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings she plans to make to education for 16 to 19 year olds; and how such savings will be applied.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The savings announced by the Chancellor will come from a variety of measures including expected departmental underspends in demand-led budgets, efficiencies and some small budgetary reductions.   The allocations for the education of 16- to 19-year-olds in the 2015/16 academic year that were announced in March remain in place and we are not planning to change them.

Academies

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assumptions her Department has made of its powers to revoke an Academy Order.

Edward Timpson: The Academies Act 2010 does not currently set out a procedure for revoking an Academy order. If the Secretary of State considered that it was necessary to revoke an Academy order, she would normally let those affected know that she did not intend to act on it.

Schools: Inspections

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many directions she has issued under section 69A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 since 17 November 2011.

Edward Timpson: We have records that the Secretary of State has issued directions under section 69A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 on four occasions since 17 November 2011.  Clause 2(6) of the Education and Adoption Bill removes the power of the Secretary of State, found in section 69A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, to direct a local authority to give a performance standards and safety warning notice. This is because, as a result of the amendments in Clause 2 of the Bill, the Secretary of State would in future be able to give and judge compliance with these notices herself.

Children: Autism

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that autistic children and their parents receive adequate support.

Edward Timpson: The comprehensive reforms to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system under the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a range of measures to improve outcomes and support for children and young people with SEN or a disability, including those with autism, and their families. The Department recognises the particular needs of children and young people with autism in education, including supported transition and preparation for adulthood and the reforms emphasise the need for local authorities and other agencies to put support in place early, and to centre it around the child or young person’s own aspirations, interests and needs.   Many aspects of the reforms are of particular benefit to children and young people with autism and their families - in particular, the move to more person-centred, multi-agency and participative Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments and plans. The new legislation provides continuity of support for a young person up to the age of 25, placing a new duty on further education colleges to use their ‘best endeavours’ to support all young people with SEN. The legislation and the Code of Practice have a strong focus on preparing for adulthood, from an early age. Children and young people with autism who do not have statements or EHC plans will benefit in particular from the clearer guidance in the Code on identifying and meeting needs.   The Act also makes provision to ensure that parents, children and young people are able to access impartial information, advice and support. This is available through a local, dedicated and easily identifiable service which includes help to prepare them for meetings with schools, health professionals or other agencies.   In addition, under the Department’s Free Schools programme, there are now fourteen open special free schools across the country, including several that are specifically for children with autism, such as the Rise free school in Hounslow, the Lighthouse free school in Leeds and the National Autistic Society’s Church Lawton free school in Cheshire. There are a further thirteen special free schools due to open in the future, including the Heartlands Autism free school in Haringey and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard free school in Lambeth.   The Department has also contracted with the Autism Education Trust (2015-16) to deliver autism training to education professionals. It is providing grant funding for two additional projects (2015-16): a project by the National Autistic Society to provide information and advice to parents and professionals on exclusions and a project by Ambitious about Autism on strategies for supporting transition from school to college.

Overseas Students

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have come to study in the UK from (a) other EU member states and (b) non-EU countries in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Edward Timpson: Information on the country of origin of pupils is not centrally collected. The latest information on the ethnicity of pupils can be found in Tables 4a to 4d of the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2015’ release at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015   For information relating to students in higher education you will need to contact the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills

Sixth Form Colleges: VAT

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 900313, if she will ensure that sixth form colleges are treated on the same basis as schools, academies, free schools and university technical colleges for the recovery of VAT.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Funding decisions will be considered in the round at the Spending Review.

Schools: East Ham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proposals her Department is considering for schools on the site of the former East Ham police station.

Edward Timpson: The former police station is suitable for a two form entry primary school which will help to address the primary places shortfall in the area. Given the need for such places we expect to be able to match the site to impending free school applications, and will be advertising it to future proposer groups.

Social Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a list of all local authority children's services departments in intervention; and what the dates and results were of each such service's last Ofsted inspections.

Edward Timpson: This table lists the 21 authorities currently in Departmental intervention as a result of being found ‘inadequate’ for children’s services provision by Ofsted.   Local AuthorityDate of last Ofsted inspection Ofsted InspectionResultBirmingham13/03/2014 InadequateBlackpool02/07/2014 Requires ImprovementBuckinghamshire03/06/2014 InadequateCalderdale13/01/2015 Requires ImprovementCheshire East13/03/2013InadequateCoventry28/01/2014 InadequateCumbria03/03/2015 InadequateDevon24/02/2015Requires ImprovementDoncaster08/10/2012InadequateIsle of Wight06/09/2014Requires ImprovementKingston Upon Thames03/06/2013InadequateKnowsley29/04/2014InadequateManchester02/06/2014 InadequateMedway07/01/2013InadequateNorfolk14/01/2013InadequateNorthamptonshire25/02/2013InadequateRochdale30/09/2014 Requires ImprovementRotherham16/09/2014 InadequateSandwell27/01/2015 InadequateSlough19/11/2013 InadequateSomerset20/01/2015 Inadequate I am happy to also place this information into the Library of the House.

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authority areas which have no maintained secondary schools; and when she plans to implement the commitment given in paragraph 5.39 of the White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, Cm 7980, published in November 2010, to consult with local authorities and academy sponsors on what role local authorities should play as strategic commissioners when all schools in an area have become academies.

Nick Gibb: There are six local authorities in which all maintained secondary schools have become academies. These are Bexley, Bournemouth, Darlington, Doncaster, North East Lincolnshire, and Rutland.   There are two further local authorities which do not have any maintained secondary schools. These are the Isles of Scilly which only has a maintained all-through school for pupils up to age 16, and the City of London, which only has a primary school.   At present there are no local authorities where all schools have become academies. The timescales in which this may happen depends upon the decisions of local school governing bodies as to whether they wish to apply to convert to become academies.

Leader of the House

Devolution: England

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 1925, if he will publish the timetable for his proposals for English votes for English laws.

Chris Grayling: I intend to announce the timetable for English votes for English laws shortly. Following the announcement of our proposals I will ensure that there is time for full and thorough debate in the House.

Members: Allowances

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to end the payment of allowances to hon. Members who do not take their seats.

Chris Grayling: The pay and allowances for Members of Parliament are a matter for IPSA. In administering pay and allowances IPSA is bound by both legislation and the resolutions of this House.It is established in legislation that that only those MPs who choose to take their seats by swearing the oath are eligible for a salary.On 8 February 2006, the House passed a resolution providing financial assistance to parties whose Members have not taken their seats towards expenses "wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the employment of staff and related support to Members designated as that party's spokesmen in relation to the party's representative business."The preference of the Government is that all elected Members should play a full part in the business of the House.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pesticides: Bees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on the adoption by the European Commission of the proposed European Food Safety Authority guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees, published by that organisation in June 2013.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what process and on what timescale she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to incorporate new European Food Safety Authority guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees into UK pesticides legislation.

George Eustice: The Government protects bees by ensuring that policy actions on pesticides (plant protection products) are based on the best evidence available. Guidance documents for plant protection products are prepared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as the Commission’s independent scientific adviser. They are adopted by the Commission once they have been formally ‘noted’ by Member States in the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.   EFSA prepared a new Guidance Document on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees. When this was put to the Standing Committee in July 2014, it was supported by too few Member States to be ‘noted’. The Commission is still considering the way forward.   Guidance documents for plant protection products are addressed to regulators and regulated companies. They are not statutory and are not incorporated into UK legislation. The Health and Safety Executive, as the UK regulator, and the Expert Committee on Pesticides, which provides independent advice to Ministers, draw on guidance documents in carrying out their work.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Environment Stewardship scheme on promoting nature and wildlife.

George Eustice: In 2013 Natural England prepared and published an evidence synthesis paper called Evidence for New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS) Design, which is available on the national archives section of Gov.uk. This paper references a range of reports, including those which have assessed the impact of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme on promoting nature and wildlife.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications were accepted during the operation of her Department's Environmental Stewardship Scheme; and what the total cost of the scheme was to the public purse.

George Eustice: From 2005 until the scheme’s closure to applicants in 2014, 116,435 applications for Environmental Stewardship agreements were received. This figure includes renewal applications for a large number of five-year Entry Level Stewardship agreements from 2010 onwards. There are 48,541 remaining live Environmental Stewardship agreements.   Since 2007, the total cost of the scheme has been £640m from the UK exchequer and £1,692m through the EU.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultations Natural England is required to conduct before accepting an application for an Environmental Stewardship Scheme.

George Eustice: The Environmental Stewardship Scheme closed to new applicants in 2014. Natural England worked closely with statutory and non-statutory interested parties when negotiating agreement offers. The Environmental Stewardship scheme handbooks explained to applicants their responsibilities regarding negotiating and obtaining consents.

Pesticides: Bees

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect bees from the effects of toxic pesticides.

George Eustice: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issue authorisations which enable pesticides to be advertised, sold, supplied, stored and used. Following a thorough risk assessment, HSE imposes conditions on the way products are used to ensure there is no harm to human health or unacceptable effects on the environment. The assessment considers risks to bees.

Glyphosate

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last reviewed guidance on the safety of glyphosate.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect glyphosate on human health.

George Eustice: All active substances used in plant protection products are subject to regular European Union (EU) wide review to ensure that they meet modern safety standards. Glyphosate is currently approved for use as a herbicide in the EU. Approval was granted in January 2002, based on a review of comprehensive health and environmental data, and expires on 31 December 2015. As part of the procedure for renewing the approval, the European Food Safety Authority is co-ordinating a detailed review of further health and environmental data with member States. The UK is participating in that review.  Plant protection products must be authorised before they may be placed on the market or used in the UK. Authorisation is granted only if data show that they pose no unacceptable risks to humans or the environment. Existing authorisations for products containing glyphosate will be reviewed after the decision on renewal of the approval has been taken.

Air Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Supreme Court Judgment in the case of R (on the application of ClientEarth) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Respondent), what criteria she plans to use to set the shortest time possible.

Rory Stewart: We are currently compiling and analysing the evidence for the revision of our Air Quality Plans for nitrogen dioxide. Revised plans will be published for consultation later in the year. The consultation will set out our approach to assessing compliance and expected timeframes.

Pesticides: Bees

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help protect the bee population; and whether she plans to allow the use of pesticides known to be harmful to bees.

George Eustice: In November 2014, Defra published the National Pollinator Strategy which forms a framework for collective action to help manage and raise awareness of the pressures facing bees and other pollinators. The Strategy seeks to address key gaps in our understanding about the status of pollinators, identifies specific policy and evidence actions for government and others, and also identifies actions that everyone can take to help expand food, shelter and nest sites. To raise public awareness, a ‘Call to Action’, ‘Bees’ Needs: Food and a Home’ was launched in July 2014. This is a simple message to all land managers on the essential needs of pollinators and how to fulfil them. Defra will publish a ‘one year on’ progress report on the Strategy in autumn 2015.   As set out in the Strategy, our work over the next five years to develop the evidence base will allow us to identify pollinator trends with greater certainty, so that we can assess progress with our outcomes and identify where further action should be taken. This evidence base will include consideration of the impact of pesticides.

Food: Waste

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the amount of food wasted by supermarkets; and if she will take further steps to reduce that amount.

Rory Stewart: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that 0.23 million tonnes of food waste came from the grocery retail industry in 2013. Through WRAP, the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers, including all the major UK supermarkets, to meet targets to reduce food waste from households and the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment.   All signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in food supply chain waste between 2010 and 2012 (there were also targets on household food waste and packaging waste). The third phase targets a further 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste reduction by the end of 2015.

Rivers

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on improving the quality of chalk rivers in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) England.

Rory Stewart: The Environment Agency is continuing its work with local water companies to improve the quality of rivers in Hertfordshire. In 2014 several watercourses showed improvements in water quality linked to a reduction in polluted surface water outfalls and improved processes at sewage works. Through local engagement with the agriculture sector, the Environment Agency is identifying opportunities to reduce agricultural run-off including fertilizers and pesticides.   Through its Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme, the Environment Agency is also seeking to improve flows in chalk rivers in Hertfordshire. Affinity Water has committed £5 million and the Environment Agency is also committing significant funds to the project.   Across England, a programme of physical habitat restoration is under way on these rivers (including the 11 chalk river Sites of Special Scientific Interest that need restoration). Led jointly by Natural England and the Environment Agency, this programme involves a range of statutory and voluntary sector partners. Since 2011, some 70 kilometres of chalk stream have been improved.   Water company investment has also contributed to substantial reductions in phosphate pollution, to which chalk streams are particularly sensitive, and additional investment is proposed to secure further improvements.   The Environment Agency has changed 46 abstraction licences for ten chalk streams across England. These returned 9.4 million cubic metres year of water back to chalk streams and removed the risk of another 1.6 million cubic metres per year being taken. This is equivalent to the average annual domestic water use of 200,000 people, or the approximate population of Peterborough.

Air Pollution: Greater Manchester

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what levels of air pollution were recorded in Greater Manchester in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Rory Stewart: Defra uses both monitoring and modelling to assess air quality in the UK. Information about recent and historic levels of pollution, pollution forecasts, health advice and background modelled data is available on the UK-AIR website.Defra has five monitoring stations in the Greater Manchester Urban Agglomeration. Information about the sites and the pollutants measured is available as follows:· Bury Whitefield Roadside:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/site-info?uka_id=UKA00598· Manchester Piccadilly:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/site-info?uka_id=UKA00248· Manchester South:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/site-info?uka_id=UKA00313· Salford Eccles:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/site-info?uka_id=UKA00339· Shaw Crompton Way:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/site-info?uka_id=UKA00579 Defra produces annual “Air Pollution in the UK” reports, which summarise the Department’s annual air quality assessment. These reports include results from all UK monitoring sites and can be found here:http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

Air Pollution

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date she plans to publish a new national air quality plan.

Rory Stewart: Revised air quality plans for nitrogen dioxide will be published by the end of 2015.

Animal Welfare: EU Action

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the European Commission's study on information to consumers on the stunning of animals, published in May 2015, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of that report; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government welcomes the findings of the Commission’s report into the labelling of meat and religious slaughter, which is a serious contribution to the debate. We are studying the findings and look forward to any proposals that come forward from the EU Commission.

Crabs: China

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Chinese authorities on the banning of the export of crabs from the UK to China; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: I share the hon. Member’s concern that the UK is currently unable to export live crabs to China. Defra officials are working closely with the Food Standards Agency, industry representatives and Devolved Administrations and have engaged extensively with the Chinese authorities, including through our Agriculture Counsellor in Beijing. We are scheduling a technical delegation to visit China to identify terms on which exports might recommence, and to emphasise the need for consistent application of testing for crabs caught in the same common fisheries area.

Bees: Conservation

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the sustainability of the UK's honeybee population.

George Eustice: Pollinators are a high priority for Defra and in November 2014 we published the National Pollinator Strategy which forms a framework for collective action by the Government, other organisations and the public to ensure their sustainability. The strategy identifies actions that everyone can take to help expand the all year-round availability of food, nectar and pollen for our bees. More information on the “Bees’ Needs: Food and a Home” awareness campaign is available at: www.wildlifetrusts.org/Bees-needs. This year the Government announced the first ever pollinator and farm wildlife package, which will see more funding made available to those farmers and landowners who provide food and harbourage for bees through the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Defra also supports the UK honeybee population through the action of our bee inspectors and our bee pest surveillance programmes (more than 6,000 apiary inspections per year) and the free training and advice we provide to beekeepers. We are developing a range of training aids and courses with the national beekeeping associations to improve bee husbandry standards across the country. A good understanding of our bees’ needs is essential if we are to sustain our honeybee populations, and developing evidence is a key activity under the National Pollinator Strategy. This work programme includes a number of initiatives such as SmartBees that will benefit our honeybees. SmartBees is a €6 million EU research project, co-funded by Defra, which aims to improve our understanding of honeybees’ resistance to diseases and help beekeepers breed bees that have greater disease resistance and are better adapted to local climatic conditions and needs.

Pesticides: EU Law

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's position is on an EU-wide ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.

George Eustice: Since December 2013, three of the five currently approved neonicotinoids have not been permitted for use on a wide range of crops considered “attractive to bees”. A number of other uses remain permitted under the EU approval.   The Government has implemented these restrictions in full. The European Commission has begun a review of the science relating to the restrictions. The Government believes that decisions should be made on the basis of the scientific evidence and will fully participate in this review.

Pesticides: EU Law

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has received from the UK grower community on repeal of the ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

George Eustice: Decisions on the approval of pesticide active substances are made at EU level. In late 2013, the EU imposed restrictions on three neonicotinoids that are “attractive to bees”. The UK has implemented these rules in full. The European Commission has begun a review of the science relating to the restrictions. The government believes that decisions should be made on the basis of the scientific evidence and will fully participate in this review. Growers’ representatives have made it clear that they regard the restrictions as problematic for the production of affected crops. They are not convinced that the evidence suggests that bees are harmed from use of these pesticides.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Renewable Energy: Cumbria

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost to the public purse was of renewable subsidies received by businesses in (a) Cumbria, (b) Carlisle District in (i) 2012-13 (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC does not hold data on renewable subsidies broken down to regions or districts.

Solar Power: Housing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will take steps to incentivise house builders to build homes facing south to make solar panels as efficient as possible.

Andrea Leadsom: Installation of domestic solar PV is supported through the Feed-In-Tariff scheme which provides greater incentive to more efficiently deployed panels as the amount of income received depends on the amount of electricity generated. Advice on generation based on orientation, pitch, etc. is given in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Guide to the Installation of Photovoltaic Systems:http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/images/PV%20Book%20ELECTRONIC.pdf.

Fuel Poverty: Children

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many children living in households that are classed as being in fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) East Midlands, (c) Nottingham and (d) Ashfield constituency in each year since 2010.

Andrea Leadsom: Detailed data on the age of household occupants is not available at the sub-regional level.The table below shows the number of fuel poor households which contain at least one child under the age of 16 in (a) England and (b) East Midlands, in each year since 2010.Number and proportion of fuel poor households with at least one child under 16   EnglandEast Midlands (000s)%(000s)%20131,06445904520121,101471014120111,0294290352010988409737

Nuclear Power Stations

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for each operational nuclear power plant in the UK, what the available operating capacity in mega watts is; which of those plants have life extensions in place; for how long these extensions will last; and which of those plants have sought permission to secure further life extensions.

Andrea Leadsom: The decision on whether to extend the life of a nuclear power station is for the owners in conjunction with the regulators. The Regulators do not set prescribed lifetimes for UK nuclear power stations. The owners/operators of nuclear power plants make a commercial decision on whether to extend operation.In order to gain approval from the Regulators, owners/operators must show that the plant will continue to be run in compliance with site licence conditions and that the continued operation of the nuclear power station is safe.The table below details, for each operational nuclear power plant, the available operating capacity and details of life extensions.PlantTotal supply to the national grid1 2(MW)Expected shutdownLife extensionWylfa 1490Dec 2015Includes a 1 year extensionDungeness B 1&210502028Includes a 10 year extensionHartlepool 1&211802019Includes a 5 year extensionHeysham I-1 & I-211552019Includes a 5 year extensionHeysham II-1 & II-212302023No current life extension soughtHinkley Point B 1&29552023Includes a 7 year extensionHunterston B 1&29652023Includes a 7 year extensionTorness 1&211852023No current life extension soughtSizewell B11982035No current life extension sought [1] http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-T-Z/United-Kingdom/[2]  http://www.edfenergy.com/energy.

Energy: Prices

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of trends in UK (a) wholesale and (b) domestic energy prices compared to those of the UK's G7 competitors.

Andrea Leadsom: With regards to wholesale electricity prices, DECC does not make internal assessments of wholesale prices in G7 countries, but we do review data from external publications (including the IEA Energy Prices Publication by the International Energy Agency). Wholesale electricity prices vary across countries because of differences in energy mix, i.e. the type of generation (coal, gas, nuclear, wind, etc) available in the country; differences the type of market and regulatory framework in place, and differences in interconnection, i.e the links to other countries.With regards to domestic energy prices, DECC publishes the UK’s rank in the G7 for domestic electricity and gas prices in its quarterly publications on domestic electricity and gas prices in the IEA. For domestic electricity, including taxes, the UK ranked 4th highest in the G7 in 2013. For domestic gas, including taxes, the UK ranked 3rd lowest in the G7 in 2013. These ranks have not changed in the last 5 years.

Fuel Poverty

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to reduce fuel poverty.

Andrea Leadsom: Fuel poverty is a devolved matter.In England, the Government is fully committed to tackling fuel poverty, including meeting a new 2030 target now enshrined in law. Official statistics show that fuel poverty has fallen in England every year since 2010, demonstrating that the Government’s policies are working. Flagship policies such as the Energy Company Obligation and Warm Home Discount (both of which operate across Great Britain) help millions of low income and vulnerable households each year with heating and insulation measures as well as direct reductions in their energy bills.The Northern Ireland Executive decides its own fuel poverty objectives and policies. For example, the Department for Social Development offers energy efficiency improvement schemes for low income households through the Warm Homes Scheme, Boiler Replacement Scheme and the Affordable Warmth Scheme.

Green Deal Scheme

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is the policy of the Government to keep the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund in operation.

Andrea Leadsom: The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund is currently open to applications from customers installing two energy efficiency measures from an approved list. The Government is considering the right long-term framework for the home energy efficiency market, and is committed to ensuring that the concerns of industry and bill payers are listened to. Policy proposals will be published in due course.

Fuel Poverty

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of households in fuel poverty in (a) the West Midlands and (b) England.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is fully committed to tackling fuel poverty in England, including meeting the 2030 target now enshrined in law.Policies such as the Warm Home Discount and Energy Company Obligation deliver vital support to millions of low income and vulnerable homes each year. This includes direct reductions in electricity bills as well as support to improve homes through heating and insulation measures.We publish information on the geographical distribution of measures under ECO here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-march-2015.Furthermore, in terms of support in the West Midlands, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has recently received funding through the Fuel Poverty Health Booster Fund for scaling up activity to help fuel poor households where people have health conditions linked to cold homes.

Energy: Conservation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the ruling of the European Court of Justice on 4 June 2015 on the UK's VAT rate on the supply and installation of energy-saving materials, what assessment she has made of (a) the implications for her policies of that ruling and (b) the effect that ruling will have on measures to improve energy efficiency.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is currently considering the full implications of the decision of the European Court of Justice on the application of the VAT reduced rate to the installation of energy saving materials.Estimates based on provisional internal analysis suggest that around 1.5% fewer households would meet the Green Deal’s Golden Rule if the VAT rate was 20% instead of 5%.In England, most Energy Company Obligation (ECO) delivery does not involve blending with private finance or other funding streams, so there is likely to be minimal impact were there to be a VAT increase.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2015 to Question 2098, what estimate she has made of the number of social housing tenants who will not be eligible for inclusion in the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: There is currently no methodology to enable an estimate to be made of the number of social housing tenants who do not meet the qualification requirements for the Warm Home Discount Scheme. However, during the four years of the scheme we have not received representations to suggest that social tenants have been disproportionately unable to access the scheme.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service: Durham

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will investigate the reasons for a delay of over two weeks in distributing paynotes and P60 forms to prison officers in Durham.

Andrew Selous: Payslips and P60’s are delivered by secure courier to NOMS Establishments for internal distribution to staff. Our investigations have shown that there was no delay in the distribution of the annual P60 payslips for HMP Durham, but there was a delay in the distribution of payslips at the end of May for which my apologies are offered. The majority of the delay was due to the pay slips initially being delivered to the wrong establishment. The payslips were redelivered on the 8th June. The contract management team for Shared Services have investigated the issue and are putting in place changes to mitigate against these events occurring in the future.

Youth Custody: Learning Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of staff working in (a) secure training centres and (b) young offender institutions who are qualified to work with young people with learning difficulties.

Andrew Selous: Staff within Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) are required to undertake training programmes that provide them with an understanding of the needs of young people within the establishments (including young people with learning difficulties) and how these needs may affect their behaviour and communication. Data is not held centrally on the number of staff working in STCs and YOIs who are qualified to work specifically with young people with learning difficulties.

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date he last visited a (a) secure training centre, (b) young offender institution and (c) secure children's home.

Andrew Selous: The Secretary of State for Justice will visit all three sectors of the youth secure estate in due course. I have visited a number of youth custodial establishments in recent months, including Feltham and Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institutions, Medway Secure Training Centre and Lincolnshire Secure Children’s Home.

Bill of Rights: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he proposes to bring forward changes to the rights of children in the proposed British Bill of Rights.

Dominic Raab: This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. The UK has a proud tradition of respect for human rights which long pre-dates the Human Rights Act 1998. But the Human Rights Act opened the system to abuse, damaging the credibility of human rights. We will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights, which will replace the Human Rights Act. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system. Proposals are being developed at the moment and we will fully consult on them before introducing legislation.

Young Offenders: Training

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensured children and young people in the secure estate have access to high quality training and employment programmes.

Andrew Selous: We firmly believe that education and training are crucial to help young offenders turn their backs on crime and find employment on release from custody. A number of initiatives launched over the last year put increased focus on education and training in youth custody. Under the Turn Around To Work initiative, more than 20 high profile employers in London and Manchester offer tailored placements to provide young people in custody with the training and skills needed to gain employment and lead a life free from crime. As well as work shadowing, placements include mentoring and interview skills training. In addition, four resettlement consortia comprising partners from the custodial estate, youth offending teams and local authorities have been established to improve support for young people in the run up to and on release from custody, and help them reintegrate with society. In pilots this approach led to 30% more young people having education, training and employment placements arranged. From August this year, all youth custodial establishments will be required to deliver between 25 and 30 hours of education per week. New contracts for education providers in public sector Young Offender Institutions commenced in March 2015 provide an even greater focus on education and will see the number of hours of education available to young people more than double.

Prisoners: Females

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many resettlement units for female offenders have been opened in each prison since October 2013; and what the capacity is of each such unit.

Caroline Dinenage: All women’s prisons now have embedded resettlement services. These are provided under contract by the Community Rehabilitation Companies which are required to make sure that their services are tailored to women’s specific needs. Two 25-bed open units were opened at HMP/ YOIs Styal and Drake Hall earlier this year. The units are situated outside of the perimeter fence and only thoroughly risk-assessed women offenders will be eligible to be located there, focusing on helping them into jobs and preparing them for release. Additionally a 34 bed unit has been opened within the perimeter of HMP/YOI Foston Hall and two units totalling 78 places are shortly to open within HMP/YOI Eastwood Park. These additional places will mean that future women offenders can be held closer to home and are intended to contribute to their successful resettlement.

Prisoners: Females

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders are currently housed in each resettlement unit in each prison.

Caroline Dinenage: All of the current 3,901 women offenders are held in resettlement prisons which have embedded resettlement services. These are provided under contract by Community Rehabilitation Companies which are required to make sure that their services are tailored to women’s specific needs.

Legal Aid Scheme: Mental Illness

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve access to legal aid for people with mental health issues; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government is aware of the importance of ensuring that vulnerable people, including those with mental health issues have access to Justice. Whilst making savings to spending on civil legal aid we have made sure funding is available in cases where legal help is most needed. When we enacted the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, we specifically protected legal advice and legal representation for eligible persons involved in mental health and capacity proceedings under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. In addition, certain damages claims brought against public authorities (those involving a significant breach of human rights or the abuse of a position of power) claims arising out of allegations of the abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, or allegations of sexual assault, continue to be funded. We are monitoring the impacts of legal aid reform and will conduct a post implementation review within 3-5 years of implementation of part 1 of LASPO.

Prisoners: Females

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders from each resettlement unit are currently doing community work on resettlement day release.

Caroline Dinenage: The table below shows the number of women offenders participating in community work on resettlement day release at each women’s prison as of 17 June 2015.  HMP/ YOI Askham Grange25HMP/ YOI Bronzefield5HMP/ YOI Drake Hall16HMP/ YOI East Sutton Park9HMP/ YOI Holloway9HMP/ YOI Low Newton2HMP/ YOI Peterborough3HMP Send14HMP/ YOI Styal6

Prisoners: Females

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders from each resettlement unit are in paid work while on resettlement day release and are paying 40 per cent of that wage to Victim Support.

Caroline Dinenage: All female offenders are held in resettlement prisons. The Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 was brought into force on 26 September 2011. It enables prison governors to impose a levy of up to 40% on the wages of low-risk prisoners who work outside prison on temporary licence, in order to prepare for their eventual release. The table below sets out the numbers of female offenders who are in paid work while on resettlement day release and are paying 40% of their wage to Victim Support for each women’s prison as of 17 June 2015. HMP/ YOI Askham Grange16HMP/ YOI Drake Hall5HMP/ YOI East Sutton Park8HMP/ YOI Eastwood Park1HMP/ YOI Holloway9HMP Send3

Knives: Crime

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on implementing New Clauses 6 and 7 which were added to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on 17 June 2014.

Andrew Selous: Section 28 and Schedule 5 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 provides a minimum custodial sentence for those convicted for a second or subsequent time for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. This will be implemented as soon as possible.

Bill of Rights 1689

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on repeal of the 1689 Bill of Rights.

Dominic Raab: The Government has no plans to repeal the 1689 Bill of Rights.

Custodial Treatment: Discipline

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many internal adjudications cases there were in each public and private prison and young offenders institution that holds young adults aged from 18 to 21 in each of the last three years.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many internal adjudication cases there were in each public and private young offenders institution in each of the last three years.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases have been referred to the external adjudicator in each private and public young offenders institution holding young adults aged from 18 to 21 in each of the last three years.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on independent adjudicators in each public and private prison and young offenders institution in each month of (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 to date.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were referred to the external adjudicator in each private and public young offenders institution holding children in each of the last three years.

Andrew Selous: Discipline Procedures are central to the maintenance of a safe custodial environment. They are provided for by the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules which require adjudications to be conducted lawfully, fairly and justly, and for prisoners and young people (aged 15-17) to have a full opportunity to hear what is alleged against them and to present their case. Independent Adjudicators are District Judges or Deputy District Judges who attend establishments when necessary to hear prisoner adjudication cases which are deemed sufficiently serious and which may merit a punishment of additional days to a prisoner’s time spent in custody if the prisoner is found guilty. Information on the number of adjudications by type of adjudicators (Governors or Independent Adjudicators) is not held centrally. Offender Management Statistics are published periodically at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/424905/adjudications-2014.xls Further details will be published in due course. It is important to note that some incidences may have been committed at one establishment and punished at another.

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans there are to accommodate (a) girls and (b) offenders under the age of 15 in the proposed Secure College.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on plans for Secure College rules.

Andrew Selous: As my noble friend Lord Faulks confirmed on 18 July, contracts for the construction and operation of the secure college pathfinder have not been signed. We are now considering next steps.

Cabinet Office

Departmental Responsibilities

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the updated list of Government Ministers and their Responsibilities.

Matthew Hancock: The List of Government Ministers and their Responsibilities is currently being updated to reflect recent Ministerial appointments and will be published shortly.

Influenza: Death

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died from influenza in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - Death from Influenza
(PDF Document, 368.51 KB)

Public Bodies: Irish Language

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what requirements there are for public bodies with reserved functions to offer responses to public correspondence and inquiries made in the Gaelic language in that language; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: There is no formal requirement for public bodies to offer responses to public correspondence and inquiries made in the Gaelic language in that language.

Electoral Register

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration the Government has given to continuing to use the matching system between the electoral register and Government databases that was used in the transition towards Individual Electoral Registration.

John Penrose: The matching of electoral registers against Government and local authority data, referred to as ‘confirmation,’ was a one off exercise to help simplify the change to Individual Electoral Registration (IER). It resulted in 87% of existing electors being automatically transferred to the new registers under IER without needing to take any action. Data matching continues to form an important part of the system for voter registration, in verifying new applications, but also locally in identifying and verifying applications from eligible electors. We will keep under review the scope for data to further improve voter registration.

Electoral Register

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of people on the electoral register of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration.

John Penrose: The Electoral Commission published their analysis of the electoral registers used for the elections on 7 May 2015. The full report can be found at:http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/190464/IER-June-report.pdf

Electoral Register

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) national and (b) local match system used in the transition to Individual Electoral Registration.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) national and (b) local match rates between the electoral register and government databases were used in the transition towards Individual Electoral Registration (i) overall and (ii) in each local authority and parliamentary constituency.

John Penrose: The Cabinet Office published results in November 2014 of the nationwide data matching process referred to as ‘confirmation’ between government records and local data with electoral registers during the transition to Individual Electoral Registration.The report is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-data-matching-to-confirm-electors-in-great-britain

Elections

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the deposit necessary to stand in local elections.

John Penrose: Deposits are not currently required for candidates to stand in local government elections and the Government does not have any plans to introduce such a provision.

Elections

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent candidates standing in both local and general elections when those elections are held on the same day.

John Penrose: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Low Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people earning the living wage.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - Living Wage
(PDF Document, 70.03 KB)

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many citizens of other member states of the EU are resident in the UK.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - Member States to the EU
(PDF Document, 163.98 KB)

Police and Crime Commissioners

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to specify that the next elections of police and crime commissioners are conducted under the first-past-the-post system.

John Penrose: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Train Operating Companies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to add train operating companies to the Government's list of Strategic Suppliers.

Matthew Hancock: As train operating companies generally only work through the Department of Transport, we have no plans at present to add them to the list of Strategic Suppliers, which is reviewed on a regular basis.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Tickets: Sales

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what process he plans to adopt for the selection of a Chair and members of the review of measures relating to secondary ticketing that will be established under the provisions of section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the review of measures relating to secondary ticketing that is to be established under section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, when he plans to announce the (a) identity of the Chair and other members, (b) scope and (c) timetable of that review.

Tracey Crouch: My Department is working with the Department for Business (BIS) regarding the commencement of the statutory review of the consumer protection measures in the online secondary ticketing market. The review will be given an appropriate amount of time to conclude with its findings being published within a year of commencement of the relevant aspects of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and be presented to Parliament. The review leadership will be announced in due course and it will be funded and resourced jointly between BIS and DCMS.

Arts: Apprentices

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the number of apprenticeships in the cultural and creative sector.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Between 2009 and 2014, almost 8000 people began apprenticeships in the creative industries, plus more than 45,000 apprenticeships in ICT.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital communications infrastructure strategy, published on 18 March 2015, when the Government will review the results of the market test pilots; and when he plans to publish that review.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Later this year.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital communications infrastructure strategy, published on 18 March 2015, what estimate he has made of the cost of subsidising satellite broadband to a further one per cent of premises; how much of that cost will be borne by each of the superfast broadband programmes; when that scheme will be announced; and how that scheme will be publicised.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government anticipates that there will be around 300,000 premises with speeds below 2Mbps by December 2017. The cost of subsidising satellite broadband equipment is likely to be of the order of a few hundred pounds for each premises where consumers decide to take advantage of the offer. The superfast broadband projects have approximately £60 million funding reserved for supporting increases in speeds to 2Mbps. The scheme will be announced before the end of 2015 and it will be publicised by Broadband Delivery UK and by Local Bodies.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital communications infrastructure strategy, published on 18 March 2015, what discussions he has had with stakeholders and the EU Commission on the Commission's review of the EU Framework for Communications; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: We expect the Commission to publish a consultation on the Communications Framework in the autumn. To prepare for this, we intend to commence discussions with both stakeholders and the Commission this month.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Ofcom Communications Review discussion document will be published.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Summer 2015.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital communications infrastructure strategy, published on 18 March 2015, when he plans to publish the roadmap for an Internet of Things infrastructure; and how many full-time equivalent officials are working on that roadmap.

Mr Edward Vaizey: By the end of the year. A number of officials from the infrastructure and future technologies team are working on the roadmap.

Channel Four Television

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the future of Channel 4; and whether any officials in his Department are working on plans for the future of that channel.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I want Channel 4 to compete successfully with other Public Service broadcasters and deliver their public service remit. Ofcom are examining Channel 4’s current and future position as part of their review of Public Service Broadcasting. When published, that review will be considered by my officials.

Broadband: Europe

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on which major European country has the most comprehensive and cheapest superfast broadband coverage.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom published its annual International Communications Market Report and its European Broadband Scorecard in December 2014, including comparisons between European countries. Both are available from: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr14/international/ While an update of the scorecard is available from:http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/bbresearch/scorecard-15-q1

Broadband: North West

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of fibre-optic broadband businesses in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Tameside local authority area, (c) Stockport local authority area and (d) the North West.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Current superfast broadband coverage is over 80% of UK premises and the Government remains committed to providing 95% coverage to homes and businesses by December 2017. This is an increase from 45% coverage in 2010. The Department deposited data in the House of Commons Library which estimates commercial coverage and coverage supported by public investment in constituencies by the end of 2017. The table can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/?house=1&search_term=Department+for+Culture%2c+Media+and+Sport&itemId=122028#toggle-163 In Denton and Reddish commercial broadband delivery is expected to cover 97% of homes and businesses. By the end of the Greater Manchester broadband project in March 2017, coverage is expected to have increased to near 99% of premises. Over 1,000 homes and businesses will benefit in Denton and Reddish from this public investment, and over 750 of these are already able to access better broadband due to the project. As of 11 June 2015, 29 cabinets had been upgraded in Tameside under the Greater Manchester project, bringing access to fibre broadband to over 2,500 homes and businesses of the planned 5,900 in the project. At the same date 30 cabinets had been upgraded in Stockport, bringing access to fibre to over 2,000 homes and businesses of the planned 4,700 in the project. Projects with Government funding have provided coverage of superfast broadband to over 263,000 homes and businesses in the North West to date. Small and medium sized enterprises in 50 UK cities are eligible for a grant of up to £3,000 under the Government’s Broadband Connection Voucher scheme to help pay for the connection costs to faster and better broadband. To date 3,549 businesses in Greater Manchester and 4,282 businesses in the North West have benefited from the voucher scheme.

Broadband: Urban Areas

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to resolve non-spots in urban areas as part of the superfast broadband roll-out.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government's strategy for city centres is to work with the commercial suppliers to encourage them to deploy superfast and ultrafast broadband quickly to as many premises as possible, for example it has prequalified the expansion of Virgin Media’s ultrafast broadband network for the UK Guarantees Scheme, supporting Virgin’s proposed £3 billion investment. We are also providing direct financial support to small and medium sized businesses in 50 cities across the UK through the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, which contributes up to £3,000 to each SME to help pay for the connection costs to faster and better broadband.

Gaming Machines

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to increase the maximum payout for complex category D gaming machines.

Tracey Crouch: Category D gaming machines are the only gambling product that children are permitted to play. Public tolerance for children and gambling is, quite rightly, very low. Therefore the case for increasing the stake and prizes would need to be extremely compelling to make me reconsider the current levels.

Gaming Machines

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that bookmakers operate B2 and B3 gaming machines on an equal basis with amusement arcades.

Tracey Crouch: I have no plans to allow B2 gaming machines in amusement arcades. In April 2014 the previous Government announced action which included £50 staking measures on B2 gaming machines in bookmakers which came into force in April 2015. I think we need to give time for these regulations to bed in before we consider further legislative options. I will also want to consult with a wide range of stakeholders on this issue before thinking about next steps.

Cultural Heritage: EU Law

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the contribution of 10 June 2015 from the Prime Minister, Official Report, column 1210, what steps he is taking to implement EU Directive 2014/60/EU of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a member state.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State will introduce regulations to implement the changes brought about by the recast Directive 2014/60/EU of 15 May 2014 before 18 December 2015.

Local Press

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of government support for local newspapers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Local newspapers are an important source of information for local communities and a vital part of a healthy democracy. For this reason, the government will consult in due course on whether to introduce a business rates relief for local newspapers in England to support them as they adapt to new technology and changing circumstances.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Hearing Aids

Mr David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2015 to Question 1510, what advice is given to people using hearing aids in order to hear non-public proceedings in meeting rooms in the building where no loop provision exists; and whether the Commission has discussed that matter with Action on Hearing Loss.

Sir Paul Beresford: Information about which meeting rooms have an induction loop is available via the self-service room booking service or by contacting the facilities team directly.Deaf or hard of hearing guidance is available on the Parliamentary Intranet for those who work in Parliament. This includes information about the different kind of interpreters who may be booked to help deaf and hard of hearing people at meetings: British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreters, lip speakers, speech to text reporters (STTRs) and electronic notetakers. These forms of communication may be used in rooms without induction loops. It should be noted that even in rooms where there is an induction loop, some deaf and hard of hearing people need to rely on alternative means of communication. An infra-red driven hearing loop system is available in House of Commons Committee rooms. A video is also available on the Parliament website, in subtitled and signed versions, which informs visitors about the extent of the availability of the system. People with hearing difficulties can use the system by obtaining a personal loop from the reception desk in either the Main Committee Corridor or the first floor of Portcullis House.The House of Commons has been awarded the Action on Hearing Loss, Louder than Words charter mark, a nationally recognised award that shows people who are deaf or have hearing loss that an organisation offers a fully deaf aware service. The House of Commons continues to work with Action on Hearing Loss to improve our facilities for those who have hearing loss or are deaf.

Parliament: Apprentices

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, how many apprenticeships are available on the parliamentary estate.

Sir Paul Beresford: The House Service runs an apprenticeship scheme that offers 10 placements each year. The scheme was launched in 2013. Apprentices complete a 12-month placement, studying to NVQ levels 2 or 3. The first cohort of 10 apprentices studied and completed an NVQ in Business Administration, and all 10 secured jobs at the end of their apprenticeship with the House Service. The second cohort started in September 2014, with one studying for a Professional Cookery level 3 qualification. The House of Commons does not hold definitive information about the number of apprentices working for contractors on the estate. However, there are at least 13 apprentices currently working on the estate who are employed by contractors.